阅读说明：本技术 电动阀控制装置及具备该电动阀控制装置的电动阀装置 (Electric valve control device and electric valve device provided with same ) 是由 林晃弘 佐藤洁治 小川善朗 于 2018-11-19 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供一种能够可靠地判断EEPROM中存储的阀开度信息是否正确、能够提高可靠性的电动阀控制装置以及具备该电动阀控制装置的电动阀装置。在作为非易失性的存储部的EEPROM(11e)中设置异常结束旗标,在电动阀(9)的电源切断时或向休眠模式转移时,从EEPROM(11e)清除上述异常结束旗标。(Provided are an electrically operated valve control device and an electrically operated valve device provided with the electrically operated valve control device, wherein it is possible to reliably determine whether valve opening information stored in an EEPROM is correct, and it is possible to improve reliability. An abnormal end flag is set in an EEPROM (11e) as a nonvolatile storage part, and when the power supply of the electric valve (9) is cut off or the electric valve is transferred to a sleep mode, the abnormal end flag is cleared from the EEPROM (11 e).)

1. A motor-operated valve control device having a nonvolatile storage unit that stores valve opening degree information when the power supply of a motor-operated valve is turned off or when the motor-operated valve is shifted to a sleep mode,

an abnormal end flag is set in the storage unit when the driving of the electric valve is started, and the abnormal end flag is cleared from the storage unit when the power supply of the electric valve is turned off or when the electric valve is shifted to the sleep mode.

2. The electric valve control device according to claim 1,

when the power supply of the electrically operated valve is turned off or when the electrically operated valve is shifted to the sleep mode, the abnormal end flag is cleared from the storage unit after the valve opening degree information of the electrically operated valve is stored in the storage unit.

3. The electric valve control device according to claim 2,

the method includes storing valve opening information of the electrically operated valve in the storage unit, and outputting a signal for notifying that the power supply can be turned off or that the electrically operated valve can be shifted to a sleep mode to the outside after the abnormal end flag is cleared from the storage unit.

4. The electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

when the abnormal end flag is set in the storage unit when the power of the electrically operated valve is turned on or when the electrically operated valve is restored from the sleep mode, an initialization process is executed or valve opening information received from the outside is used for valve opening control of the electrically operated valve.

5. The electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

when the abnormal end flag is cleared from the storage unit at the time of power-on of the electrically operated valve or at the time of return from the sleep mode, the valve opening degree information stored in the storage unit is used for valve opening degree control of the electrically operated valve.

6. The electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

IN the communication for the valve opening degree control of the electric valve, L IN communication or CAN communication is used.

7. The electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

comprising: a transmitting/receiving unit that transmits/receives a signal to/from the outside; a calculation unit that calculates a control signal for the valve opening of the electrically operated valve based on a signal received from the outside by the transmission/reception unit; and a motor driving unit that operates a motor of the electrically operated valve in accordance with a control signal of a valve opening degree of the electrically operated valve from the calculation unit.

8. The electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

when the power supply of the electrically operated valve is turned off or when the electrically operated valve is shifted to the sleep mode, the driving direction of the electrically operated valve and the valve opening information of the electrically operated valve are stored in the storage unit together.

9. The electric valve control apparatus according to claim 8,

the method includes reading valve opening information and a driving direction of the electrically-operated valve from the storage unit when the electrically-operated valve is powered on or when the electrically-operated valve is returned from the sleep mode, and adding a predetermined value to a valve opening change amount when the driving direction of the electrically-operated valve is different from the read driving direction.

10. An electric valve device is characterized in that,

the electric valve control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, being assembled integrally with the electric valve.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrically operated valve control device that controls a valve opening degree of an electrically operated valve, and an electrically operated valve device provided with the electrically operated valve control device.

Background

Conventionally, in a refrigeration cycle system used for an air conditioner, a refrigeration/freezing showcase, or the like, flow rate adjustment of a circulating refrigerant is performed for the purpose of stabilizing a cooling capacity, making a superheat degree constant, and efficiently operating the system, but in order to perform adjustment at this time with high accuracy, an electrically operated valve as an electric expansion valve or a flow rate control valve in which a valve body is operated by a stepping motor is widely used as an expansion valve for flow rate control. Further, there are electric valves such as a stop valve that opens and closes a flow path of the refrigerant to flow or block the refrigerant, a three-way valve (flow path switching valve) that switches the flow direction of the refrigerant, and the like, using a stepping motor.

However, in the electrically-operated valve using the stepping motor, the opening degree is generally controlled by open-loop control without feedback of the absolute opening degree (actual opening degree), and the valve element in the valve is stopped at a position when the power supply is stopped, without returning to the initial position. Therefore, when the power is turned on next time, there is a problem that the position (absolute opening) at which the valve element stops cannot be accurately grasped.

Therefore, in the control of the electrically operated valve or the like using the stepping motor, an initialization process (also referred to as origin position determination, base point position determination, initialization, or the like) is usually executed when the power is turned on or the like, and the control of the opening degree is started after the position of the valve element is determined (for example, see patent document 1). The initialization processing is processing for sufficiently rotating the stepping motor in the valve closing direction or the valve opening direction by a pulse number exceeding the total stroke from the fully open position to the fully closed position or from the fully closed position to the fully open position, and more specifically, processing for sufficiently rotating the stepping motor in the valve closing direction or the valve opening direction by a pulse number at which the rotation is stopped by, for example, reliably colliding a rotor of the stepping motor with a stopper called a stopper, thereby determining the initial position of the 0 pulse or the maximum pulse of the motor-operated valve.

However, as described above, when the reference position is known by performing initialization when the power is turned on again or when the sleep mode is resumed, there is a problem that it takes time to resume the normal operation and the operation start of the air conditioner or the like is delayed. In addition, there is a problem that an extra energy is consumed by the initialization operation. Further, although the valve closing operation and/or the valve opening operation and the interference occur every time the initialization is performed, since the motor-operated valve is a mechanical component, the mechanical operation life is fixed, and therefore, if the initialization (number of times) is increased, there is a problem that the life of the motor-operated valve is shortened.

To solve such a problem, for example, patent document 2 listed below proposes a method in which rotational position data of a stepping motor, which is valve opening information, is stored in an EEPROM, which is a nonvolatile storage means, when a power supply is turned off or when the stepping motor shifts to a sleep mode.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electrically operated valve control device capable of reliably determining whether or not valve opening information stored in an EEPROM is accurate and improving reliability, and an electrically operated valve device provided with the electrically operated valve control device.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, an electric valve control device according to the present invention includes a nonvolatile storage unit that stores valve opening information when the electric power source of the electric valve is turned off or when the electric valve is shifted to a sleep mode, wherein an abnormality completion flag is set in the storage unit when the electric valve is started to be driven, and the abnormality completion flag is cleared from the storage unit when the electric power source of the electric valve is turned off or when the electric valve is shifted to the sleep mode.

In a preferred embodiment, the abnormal end flag is cleared from the storage unit after the valve opening information of the electrically operated valve is stored in the storage unit when the power supply of the electrically operated valve is turned off or when the electrically operated valve is shifted to the sleep mode.

In a more preferred aspect, the valve opening information of the electrically operated valve is stored in the storage unit, and after the abnormality completion flag is cleared from the storage unit, a signal for notifying that the power supply can be turned off or that the mode can be shifted to the sleep mode is output to the outside.

In another preferred embodiment, when the abnormal end flag is set in the storage unit at the time of power-on of the electrically operated valve or at the time of return from the sleep mode, an initialization process is executed, or valve opening information received from the outside is used for valve opening control of the electrically operated valve.

In another preferred embodiment, when the abnormality completion flag is cleared from the storage unit at the time of power-on of the electrically operated valve or at the time of return from the sleep mode, the valve opening degree information stored in the storage unit is used for valve opening degree control of the electrically operated valve.

IN another preferred embodiment, L IN communication or CAN communication is used for communication for controlling the valve opening of the electric valve.

In another preferred aspect, the electric valve control device includes: a transmitting/receiving unit that transmits/receives a signal to/from the outside; a calculation unit that calculates a control signal for the valve opening of the electrically operated valve based on a signal received from the outside by the transmission/reception unit; and a motor driving unit that operates a motor of the electrically operated valve in accordance with a control signal of a valve opening degree of the electrically operated valve from the calculation unit.

In another preferred embodiment, the drive direction of the electrically-operated valve and the valve opening degree information of the electrically-operated valve are stored in the storage unit together when the power supply of the electrically-operated valve is turned off or when the electrically-operated valve is shifted to the sleep mode, the valve opening degree information and the drive direction of the electrically-operated valve are read from the storage unit when the power supply of the electrically-operated valve is turned on or when the electrically-operated valve is returned from the sleep mode, and a predetermined value is added to the valve opening degree change amount when the drive direction during the driving of the electrically-operated valve is different from the read drive direction.

In the electric valve device according to the present invention, the electric valve control device is integrally assembled with the electric valve.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, the abnormal end flag is set in the nonvolatile storage unit when the driving of the electric valve is started, and the abnormal end flag is cleared from the nonvolatile storage unit when the power supply of the electric valve is turned off or when the electric valve is shifted to the sleep mode. Thus, when the previous control abnormality is ended (for example, when the power supply is suddenly cut off due to short-circuiting or cutting off of the lead wires), the valve opening degree stored in the nonvolatile storage unit at the time of power-on or the time of control start of the motor-operated valve control device can be determined as abnormal because the abnormality end flag remains in the nonvolatile storage unit at the time of the next start-up. Further, if the abnormal end flag is cleared from the nonvolatile storage unit at the next start of the electrically operated valve, it is determined that the previous control has ended normally, and the electrically operated valve can be driven using the valve opening degree information stored in the nonvolatile storage unit. Therefore, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the valve opening degree information stored in the nonvolatile storage unit is correct, and reliability can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a system block diagram of an electric valve control device and an electric valve device including the electric valve control device according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the entire process flow of control of the electric valve by the electric valve control device shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control performed when the electric valve control device shown in fig. 1 is turned on or when the sleep mode is resumed.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of the control process in the abnormal state shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control when the electric valve of the electric valve control apparatus shown in fig. 1 is driven.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the case of the motor-operated valve drive control shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the case of the motor-operated valve drive control shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control at the time of power shutoff or at the time of sleep mode transition in the electric valve control apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[ electric valve control device and electric valve device structure having the same ]

Fig. 1 is a system block diagram of an electric valve control device and an electric valve device including the electric valve control device according to the present invention. In the following description, a case where the electric valve control device according to the present invention is applied to an expansion valve of a refrigeration cycle used for an automobile air conditioner will be described as an example.

In the electric valve device 12 of the illustrated embodiment, the electric valve 9 and the electric valve control device 11 are connected by a lead wire or the like, are not located separately but are integrally assembled, and the electric valve 9 is constituted by an expansion valve 5 having a valve body (not illustrated) for controlling the flow rate of a fluid (refrigerant) and a stepping motor 8 for driving the valve body of the expansion valve 5, and the valve opening degree of the expansion valve 5 (electric valve 9) is adjusted by the rotation of the stepping motor 8. Instead of the expansion valve 5, a shutoff valve that opens and closes a flow path of the refrigerant to flow or block the refrigerant, a three-way valve (flow path switching valve) that switches the flow direction of the refrigerant, a flow rate adjustment valve other than the use as an expansion valve, or the like may be used.

Although not shown in the drawings, in a refrigeration cycle used for an automobile air conditioner, for example, a compressor, a condenser, (the expansion valve 5 of) the motor-operated valve 9, and an evaporator are connected in this order via a pipe, and the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing through the pipe is controlled by adjusting the valve opening degree of (the expansion valve 5 of) the motor-operated valve 9, or the like.

The electric valve control device 11 is connected to a battery power supply (+ Vb, GND) of the vehicle, and is connected to, for example, a L IN bus (or CAN bus or FlexRay bus) 14 as AN onboard L AN used for communication IN the vehicle, and the electric valve control device 11 operates as a slave node, receives commands such as a pulse number of the stepping motor 8 and a signal instructing AN initialization operation by receiving L IN communication signals (CAN communication signals IN the case of CAN bus and FlexRay communication signals IN the case of FlexRay bus) transmitted from AN air conditioning ECU16 as a master node of a control device of a system connected to the same L IN bus 14, and controls AN opening degree (valve opening degree) of the electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5).

Note that as the communication method between the air-conditioning ECU16 and the electrically-operated valve control device 11, there are input/output to/from the above-described serial interface (L IN communication, CAN communication, FlexRay communication, or the like: "hereinafter referred to as L IN communication or the like"), input/output to/from AN I/O port based ON a digital signal (ON-OFF signal or the like), input/output based ON wireless (Wi-Fi (registered trademark), bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like), and any method CAN be adopted, not limited to the above-described L IN communication or the like.

The electric valve control device 11 is mainly configured by a regulator 11a which generates a power supply + Vc (e.g., +5Vdc) used IN a circuit inside the electric valve control device 11 from a battery power supply + Vb (e.g., +12Vdc) and a microcomputer 11b which is a calculation unit, the microcomputer 11b includes a ROM which stores a program for controlling the rotation of the stepping motor 8 based on a L IN communication signal transmitted from an air-conditioning ECU16 through a L IN bus 14, a CPU which performs execution/calculation processing of the program stored IN the ROM, a RAM which temporarily stores data necessary for execution of the program such as a state of an initialization operation and communication data, an I/O circuit which performs input/output with a peripheral circuit, a timer which measures time such as time, an analog signal into a digital signal, an A/D converter which converts the analog signal into a digital signal, a transmitter/receiver 11c which is a transmitter/receiver, the transceiver 11c which is connected to an IN 2 bus 14, converts the voltage of the IN 14 into an analog signal, an A/D converter which converts the analog signal into a digital signal, a signal, an A/D converter which is connected to a microcomputer 11c which can store the electric valve controller 11b as a nonvolatile memory 11, a microcomputer 11 which can store the electric power supply voltage, a nonvolatile memory 11b, a microcomputer 11b which can store the electric power supply voltage, a microcomputer 11b which can control signal, and a microcomputer 11b which can control the microcomputer 11b, and a microcomputer 11b which can perform the calculation of a microcomputer 11b, and a.

The specific configuration of the electric valve control device 11 is not limited to the above configuration, and any configuration may be used as long as the present invention can be implemented (that is, valve opening control, initialization control, and the like of the electric valve 9 can be implemented).

When the battery power is turned on to the electric valve control device 11, for example, it is necessary to determine 0 pulse as the initial position of the electric valve 9, and therefore, the air-conditioning ECU16 transmits a command (initialization instruction signal) to perform an initialization operation of rotating the stepping motor 8 IN the valve closing direction by a maximum number of pulses or more to the electric valve control device 11 via the L IN bus 14 by a L IN communication signal, and transmits (notifies) the valve opening degree and the rotation direction of the electric valve 9 (that is, the current position (number of pulses) of the stepping motor 8) to the electric valve control device 11 via the L IN bus 14 and the rotation direction of the stepping motor 8 to the electric valve control device 11 via the L IN bus 14 (described later).

The electrically-operated valve control device 11 that has received the L IN communication signal performs initialization processing (initialization operation of the electrically-operated valve 9) of rotating the stepping motor 8 IN the valve-closing direction by the number of pulses (for example, 700 pulses or more) obtained by adding a sufficient number of pulses necessary for the rotor to reliably collide with the stopper (rotation stopper) to the maximum number of pulses (for example, 500 pulses) that can be controlled by the electrically-operated valve 9, when the current position (number of pulses) of the stepping motor 8 is not known such as at the time of turning on the battery power supply (initial position determination of 0 pulse) (initialization operation of 0 pulse).

IN a normal state, the microcomputer 11b of the electric valve control device 11 controls the valve opening degree of the electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5) based on a control signal transmitted from the air-conditioning ECU16 via the L IN bus 14 as a signal transmission/reception line, but when a power shutoff signal or a sleep mode shift signal is received from the air-conditioning ECU16, the microcomputer 11b stops the operation of the operating electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5), for example, and executes the storage of the valve opening degree information of the (current) electric valve 9 and the rotation direction (of the stepping motor 8) into the EEPROM11e at that time, and an abnormality end flag notifying the end state of the (electric valve control device 11) of the electric valve device 12 such as a sudden power shutoff caused by, for example, a short circuit or disconnection of a lead wire is prepared IN advance IN the microcomputer 11b, and the state of the abnormality end flag is also stored IN the EEPROM11e by the microcomputer 11b (described later IN detail).

Here, the valve opening degree information is information related to the valve opening degree of the electric valve 9, and includes information such as the rotational position of the stepping motor 8, the number of pulses, and the valve body position of the expansion valve 5 (electric valve 9). The maximum pulse number is the pulse number applied to the stepping motor 8 during a period from a lower limit position of the valve element (a limit position at which the valve element can move downward) to an upper limit position (a limit position at which the valve element can move upward) or the pulse number applied to the stepping motor 8 during a period from the upper limit position to the lower limit position of the valve element. The current position of the valve element is the number of pulses that are applied (increased or decreased) in the valve opening or closing direction to move the valve element from the fully closed position to the fully open position with the lower limit position of the valve element being 0 pulses. Of course, the number of pulses applied with the upper limit position of the valve element being 0 pulse may be counted.

The sleep mode herein is a mode in which power is turned on but the function of the microcomputer 11b is restricted or partially stopped to save power. At this time, the state shifts to a state where the RAM temporarily storing the valve opening information is not held. For example, power saving can be achieved by shifting to the sleep mode during a period when data transmission and reception are not performed, and returning from the sleep mode when data transmission is detected.

A method of storing the valve opening degree in EEPROM11e every time the valve opening degree of the motor-operated valve 9 is changed may be considered, but since EEPROM11e generally has a limit to the number of times of storage, in the present embodiment, the opportunity of storage is limited only to the case where a power supply shutoff signal or a sleep mode shift signal from the outside is received, and the number of times of storage into EEPROM11e, which is a nonvolatile storage unit, is limited. That is, the operation of storing the valve opening degree and the rotation direction in EEPROM11e is not performed until the external power supply cutoff signal or sleep mode shift signal is received.

After the preparation for the power shutoff or the transition to the sleep mode is completed, that is, when it is confirmed that the valve opening information, the rotation direction, and the abnormal end flag are stored in the EEPROM11e, the microcomputer 11b of the electric valve control device 11 transmits a power shutoff signal notifying that the state of the power shutoff is possible or a sleep mode transition permission signal notifying that the state of the transition to the sleep mode is possible to the outside (the air-conditioning ECU 16).

Upon receiving the power supply shutoff signal or the sleep mode shift permission signal from the electric valve control device 11 via the L IN bus 14, the air-conditioning ECU16 shuts off the power supply to the electric valve control device 11 or shifts to the sleep mode.

When the power supply is turned on again or the operation is resumed from the sleep mode via the air conditioner ECU16, normally (specifically, when the previous control is normally completed), the microcomputer 11b reads the valve opening degree information of the electric valve 9 and the rotation direction thereof, which are stored before the power supply is turned off or before the sleep mode is shifted (in other words, at the previous power supply turn-off or sleep mode shift), from the EEPROM11e, and restarts the control of the electric valve 9 (valve opening degree control) using the valve opening degree and rotation direction.

[ control of the electric valve control device on the electric valve ]

Hereinafter, the flow of the process of controlling the motor-operated valve 9 by (the microcomputer 11b of) the motor-operated valve control device 11 shown in fig. 1 will be specifically described with reference to fig. 2 to 8.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the entire process flow of the control of the motor-operated valve 9 by (the microcomputer 11b of) the motor-operated valve control device 11 shown in fig. 1.

The control of the motor-operated valve 9 by the motor-operated valve control device 11 (the microcomputer 11b thereof) is basically configured by control at the time of power-on or the time of return of the sleep mode (S10), control at the time of motor-operated valve driving (S20), and control at the time of power-off or the time of transition of the sleep mode (S30).

< control at Power-on or sleep mode resume (S10) >

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control performed by (the microcomputer 11b of) the electric-operated valve control device 11 shown in fig. 1 at the time of power-on or at the time of return from the sleep mode. In this control, the storage area of EEPROM11e in which the abnormal end flag is set is identified as 1 for the state in which the abnormal end flag is set, and 0 for the state in which the abnormal end flag is cleared.

When the microcomputer 11b is powered on or recovered from the sleep mode via the air conditioner ECU16, the microcomputer 11b determines whether the abnormal end flag stored in the EEPROM11e is 0 (in other words, cleared) (step S11). When the abnormal end flag is 0 (yes in step S11), the microcomputer 11b determines that the previous control has ended normally and that the valve opening or the like stored in the EEPROM11e is valid, reads the valve opening information of the motor-operated valve 9 and the rotation direction (of the stepping motor 8) thereof stored in the EEPROM11e at the previous power-off time or the previous sleep mode shift time from the EEPROM11e (step S12), and uses the valve opening information and the rotation direction for controlling the motor-operated valve 9.

On the other hand, if the abnormality end flag is not 0 (1 or set) (no in step S11), the microcomputer 11b determines that the previous control has ended abnormally and that the valve opening or the like stored in the EEPROM11e is invalid, and performs control in the case of abnormality (step S13). The specific timing for determining whether or not the abnormality completion flag stored in EEPROM11e is cleared is after the power supply to the electric valve control device 11 or after the recovery from the sleep mode, and before an instruction is read from the air conditioner ECU 16.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing more specifically the flow of the process of the abnormal-time control (step S13) shown in fig. 3.

IN this case, the microcomputer 11b transmits a notification signal for notifying that the abnormality completion flag is 1 to the air-conditioning ECU16 via the L IN bus 14 (step S61).

Next, the microcomputer 11b determines whether or not there is an initialization instruction signal instructing execution of initialization processing from the air conditioner ECU16 via the L IN bus 14 (step S62), and if there is an initialization instruction signal (step S62: yes), the microcomputer 11b rotates the stepping motor 8 by the maximum pulse number or more (for example, 700 pulses or more) IN the valve closing direction (step S63). the microcomputer 11b confirms whether or not the stepping motor 8 rotates by the maximum pulse number or more (for example, 700 pulses or more) IN the valve closing direction at regular intervals (step S64), and when it confirms that the stepping motor 8 rotates by the maximum pulse number or more IN the valve closing direction (that is, when the execution processing of initialization operation is completed) (step S64: yes), the microcomputer 11b ends the processing.

On the other hand, in the case where there is no initialization instruction signal (NO in step S62), the microcomputer 11b confirms whether or not the current valve opening information and the rotation direction are received from the air conditioner ECU16 (i.e., whether or not the current valve opening information and the rotation direction known to the air conditioner ECU16 are notified) (step S65). When the current valve opening degree information and the current rotation direction are received (yes in step S65), the valve opening degree and the rotation direction of the RAM in the microcomputer 11b are updated so that the valve opening degree information and the rotation direction are used for controlling the motor-operated valve 9 (step S66), and the process is terminated. If the current valve opening degree information and the current rotation direction are not received (no in step S65), it is determined again whether or not an initialization instruction signal is present (step S62).

< control during electrically operated valve Driving (S20) >

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control in the case of driving the motor-operated valve by (the microcomputer 11b of) the motor-operated valve control device 11 shown in fig. 1.

The microcomputer 11b calculates a control signal of the valve opening degree of the motor-operated valve 9 (expansion valve 5) based on the control signal transmitted from the air conditioning ECU16 via the L IN bus 14 using the valve opening degree information and the rotation direction of the motor-operated valve 9 or the initial position of the motor-operated valve 9 based on the initialization operation, and controls the driving state of the motor-operated valve 9 (expansion valve 5) (step S21).

Fig. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing more specifically the flow of the process in the electrically operated valve drive control (step S21) shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 6, the microcomputer 11b determines whether or not to change the valve opening degree of the electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5) based on the control signal transmitted from the air conditioner ECU16 (in other words, whether or not the target valve opening degree transmitted from the air conditioner ECU16 is different from the current valve opening degree) (step S71), and when the valve opening degree of the electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5) is changed (step S71: yes), determines whether or not the rotation direction of the electric valve 9 (expansion valve 5) is the same as the rotation direction at the time of the previous driving (in other words, whether or not the driving direction is the same as the read rotation direction or the rotation direction of the initialization operation) (step S72). When the rotation direction is the same as the rotation direction in the previous driving (yes in step S72), the hysteresis amount can be ignored, and therefore, the valve opening of the motor-operated valve 9 is adjusted by only the valve opening change amount (step S73). On the other hand, when the rotation direction is different from the rotation direction at the time of the previous driving (that is, the driving direction is different from the read rotation direction or the rotation direction of the initializing operation) (no in step S72), the hysteresis amount needs to be taken into consideration, and therefore, a predetermined value (the number of pulses corresponding to the rotation angle of the motor of the hysteresis amount) is added to the valve opening change amount to open and close the valve, and the valve opening of the motor-operated valve 9 is adjusted (step S74). In the case of a gear-type motor-driven valve, for example, when the rotation direction is reversed from the valve-open state to the valve-closed state or from the valve-closed state to the valve-open state, a delay occurs due to a gap between gears or the like.

The setting of the abnormal end flag (step S22) by the microcomputer 11b may be performed when the change (driving) of the valve opening degree of the motor-operated valve 9 (expansion valve 5) is confirmed (step S71), or may be performed when the valve opening degree of the motor-operated valve 9 (expansion valve 5) is actually changed (driven) (step S73 or step S74).

As shown in fig. 7, the microcomputer 11b transmits the valve opening information and the rotation direction of the electrically operated valve 9 to the air conditioning ECU16 at fixed time intervals during the drive control of the electrically operated valve 9 (step S81).

< control at Power-off or sleep mode transition (S30) >

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a process flow of control performed by (the microcomputer 11b of) the electric-operated valve control device 11 shown in fig. 1 at the time of power shutoff or at the time of transition to the sleep mode.

When the microcomputer 11b controls the driving state of the electric valve 9 (the expansion valve 5) as described above and receives the power shutoff signal or the sleep mode shift signal from the air conditioner ECU16, the microcomputer 11b performs the steps of storing (writing) the current valve opening information of the electric valve 9 and the rotation direction thereof in the EEPROM11e (step S31), clearing the abnormal end flag (i.e., set to 0), and storing the information in the EEPROM11e (step S32). After the preparation for power shutoff is completed as described above, the microcomputer 11b transmits, to the outside, a power shutoff signal for notifying that the state of enabling power shutoff is achieved (in other words, power shutoff is permitted) or a sleep mode shift permission signal for notifying that the state of enabling shift to the sleep mode is achieved (in other words, shift to the sleep mode is permitted) (step S33).

Then, the air conditioner ECU16, which has received the power source cut-off signal or the sleep mode shift permission signal from the microcomputer 11b, cuts off the power source of the electric valve control device 11 or shifts to the sleep mode (step S34).

[ effects of the operation of the electric valve control device and the electric valve device having the electric valve control device ]

As described above, in the electrically operated valve control device 11 of the present embodiment, the abnormal end flag is set in the EEPROM11e, which is a nonvolatile storage unit, and the abnormal end flag in the EEPROM11e is cleared when the power supply to the electrically operated valve 9 is turned off or when the electrically operated valve is shifted to the sleep mode. Thus, when the previous control is abnormally terminated (for example, when the power supply is suddenly cut off due to short circuit or disconnection of the lead wires), the abnormal end flag of EEPROM11e is set at the next start-up (when the power supply is turned on or when the control is resumed from the sleep mode), and therefore the valve opening stored in EEPROM11e can be determined to be abnormal at the time of power supply to the electric valve control device 11 or at the time of control start (when the control is resumed from the sleep mode). Further, if the abnormal end flag of EEPROM11e is cleared at the next start of the electric valve 9 (at the time of power-on or at the time of return from the sleep mode), it is determined that the previous control has normally ended and the electric valve 9 can be driven using the valve opening degree information stored in EEPROM11 e. Therefore, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not the valve opening information stored in EEPROM11e is correct, and reliability can be improved.

In the electrically operated valve control device 11 according to the present embodiment, since the valve opening degree of the electrically operated valve 9 and the rotation direction of the stepping motor 8 of the electrically operated valve 9 are stored in the EEPROM11e, which is a nonvolatile storage unit, at the time of power shutoff of the electrically operated valve 9 or at the time of transition to the sleep mode, the valve opening degree of the electrically operated valve 9 can be controlled by adding a predetermined value (the number of pulses corresponding to the rotation angle of the motor of the hysteresis) to the valve opening degree change amount in the case where the rotation direction at the time of the previous drive is different from the rotation direction at the time of the current drive, taking into account the rotation direction of the stepping motor 8 at the time of the next start (at the time of power supply on or at the time of return from the sleep mode), and therefore, even in the electrically operated valve having the mechanical hysteresis, it is possible to eliminate the error of the hysteresis and to finely.

In the above embodiment, the case where the electric valve control device 11 and the electric valve device 12 are applied to the expansion valve 5 (the electric valve 9) of the refrigeration cycle used for the automobile air conditioner is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to the expansion valve 5, and it is needless to say that the electric valve control device 11 and the electric valve device 12 of the present invention can be applied to any electric valve provided with an inlet and an outlet for fluid, a valve body for controlling the flow rate of the fluid flowing out from the outlet, and a motor for driving the valve body. For example, the present invention can be applied to a motor type shutoff valve that opens and closes a flow path of refrigerant to flow or block the refrigerant; and a flow path switching valve such as a three-way valve and a four-way valve for switching the flow direction of the refrigerant.

In the above-described embodiment, the rotation direction of the motor is stored in EEPROM11e, but instead of the rotation direction of the motor, the rotation direction of the valve body or the gear, the movement/drive direction of the valve closing/opening, the movement direction (up and down) of the valve body, and the like may be used. Therefore, terms including the rotation direction of the motor, the rotation direction of the valve element or the gear, the movement/driving direction of the valve element for closing/opening, the movement direction of the valve element, and the like are described as "driving direction of the motor-operated valve".

In the control of the above embodiment, the state in which the abnormal end flag is set is 1 and the state in which the abnormal end flag is cleared is 0 in the storage area of EEPROM11e in which the abnormal end flag is set, but the specific signal state in the storage area of EEPROM11e is of course arbitrary as long as it can be recognized whether or not the abnormal end flag is set.

Description of the symbols

5 expansion valve

8 step motor

9 electric valve

11 electric valve control device

11a regulator

11b Microcomputer (arithmetic unit)

11c L IN Transceiver (Transceiver part)

11d stepping motor driver (Motor drive part)

11e EEPROM (nonvolatile storage part)

12 electric valve device

14L IN bus

16 air conditioner ECU