Runtime verification of shutoff control line integrity in a hybrid vehicle system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10676100-B2
Application number	US-201715788250-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2017
Priority date	Oct 19, 2017
Publication date	Jun 9, 2020
Grant date	Jun 9, 2020

Abstract

A control system and diagnostic method for a hybrid vehicle having a hybrid powertrain each utilize a controller comprising (i) a hybrid control processor (HCP) and (ii) a motor control processor (MCP), a monitoring circuit that is distinct from the controller and is configured to monitor operation of the HCP and the MCP, and a gate drive circuit that is distinct from the controller and the monitoring circuit and is configured to enable/disable torque output by the hybrid powertrain based on first, second, and third independent shutoff signals. A diagnostic method performs a shutoff line integrity verification routine by performing six steps corresponding to different combinations of shutoff signals in a predetermined test sequence. These shutoff signals are provided to three independent shutoff lines, which are connected between (i) the gate drive circuit and (ii) the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring circuit, respectively.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control system for a hybrid vehicle having a hybrid powertrain including an engine and an electrically variable transmission (EVT) having first and second electric motors, the control system comprising:
a controller including (i) a hybrid control processor (HCP) and (ii) a motor control processor (MCP), wherein the HCP is configured to determine a torque contribution from the engine and the first and second electric motors and to generate corresponding commands, and wherein the MCP is configured to control the first and second electric motors in response to the commands from the HCP;
a monitoring circuit that is distinct from the controller and is configured to monitor operation of the HCP and the MCP;
a gate drive circuit that is distinct from the controller and the monitoring circuit and is configured to enable/disable torque output by the hybrid powertrain based on first, second, and third independent shutoff signals; and
first, second, and third independent shutoff lines connected between (i) the gate drive circuit and (ii) the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring circuit, respectively, and configured to provide the first, second, and third shutoff signals to improve redundancy of the control system in enabling/disabling the output of torque by the hybrid powertrain,
wherein the HCP, the MCP, the monitoring module, and the gate drive circuit are configured to perform a shutoff line integrity verification routine comprising:
performing, via the first, second, and third shutoff lines, six test steps corresponding to different combinations of shutoff signals in a predetermined test sequence;
comparing the output of the gate drive circuit to expected values for the predetermined test sequence; and
detecting a malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines based on the comparison.

2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the gate drive circuit is configured to disable torque output by the hybrid powertrain in response to the detecting of the malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines.

3. The control system of claim 2 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine is performed during a key-on or key-off event of the hybrid vehicle.

4. The control system of claim 3 , wherein the one of the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring module associated with the malfunctioning shutoff line is further configured to temporarily reroute its associated shutoff signal via another of the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring module such that vehicle availability increases in the case of the malfunctioning shutoff line.

5. The control system of claim 3 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine retries a particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence in response to the malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines.

6. The control system of claim 5 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine retries the particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence a threshold number of times before setting a fault or failure flag that disables the hybrid powertrain torque output.

7. The control system of claim 3 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine skips a particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence in response to unreliable operating conditions of the hybrid powertrain.

8. The control system of claim 7 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine logs skipped test steps and entire predetermined test sequences in an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

9. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the shutoff line integrity verification routine skips test steps or the entire predetermined test sequence a threshold number of times before setting a fault or a failure flag that disables the hybrid powertrain torque output.

10. A diagnostic method for hardware shutoff lines for a hybrid powertrain of a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid powertrain including an engine and an electrically variable transmission (EVT) having first and second electric motors, the method comprising:
performing, by a control system of the hybrid vehicle and to first, second and third independent shutoff lines, six test steps corresponding to different combinations of shutoff signals in a predetermined test sequence, the first, second, and third shutoff lines being connected between (i) a gate drive circuit of the control system and (ii) a hybrid control processor (HCP) of a controller of the control system, a motor control processor (MCP) of the controller, and a monitoring circuit of the control system, respectively;
comparing, by the control system, the output of the gate drive circuit to expected values for the predetermined test sequence; and
detecting, by the control system, a malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines based on the comparison,
wherein the HCP is configured to determine a torque contribution from the engine and the first and second electric motors and to generate corresponding commands, wherein the MCP is configured to control the first and second electric motors in response to the commands from the HCP, wherein the monitoring circuit is configured to monitor operation of the HCP and the MCP, and wherein the gate drive circuit is configured to enable/disable torque output by the hybrid powertrain based on the first, second, and third independent shutoff signals to provide to improve the redundancy of the control system in enabling/disabling the output of torque by the hybrid powertrain.

11. The diagnostic method of claim 10 , further comprising disabling, by the gate drive circuit, torque output by the hybrid powertrain in response to the detecting of the malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines.

12. The diagnostic method of claim 11 , further comprising detecting, by the control system a key-on or key-off event of the hybrid vehicle as a precondition for performing the six test steps.

13. The diagnostic method of claim 12 , further comprising temporarily rerouting, by the one of the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring module associated with the malfunctioning shutoff line, its associated shutoff signal via another of the HCP, the MCP, and the monitoring module such that vehicle availability increases in the case of the malfunctioning shutoff line.

14. The diagnostic method of claim 12 , further comprising retrying, by the control system, a particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence in response to the malfunction of at least one of the first, second, and third shutoff lines.

15. The diagnostic method of claim 14 , wherein retrying the particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence comprises retrying, by the control system, the particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence a threshold number of times before setting a fault or failure flag that disables the hybrid powertrain torque output.

16. The diagnostic method of claim 12 , further comprising skipping, by the control system a particular test step or the entire predetermined test sequence in response to unreliable operating conditions of the hybrid powertrain.

17. The diagnostic method of claim 16 , further comprising logging, by the control system, skipped test steps and entire predetermined test sequences in an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM).

18. The diagnostic method of claim 17 , wherein skipping test steps or the entire predetermined test sequence comprises skipping, by

Assignees

• Karandikar Mayuresh
• Duan Shawn X
• Weslati Feisel
• Fca Us Llc

Inventors

• Karandikar Mayuresh
• Duan Shawn X
• Weslati Feisel

Classifications

• B60W20/50

  Control strategies for responding to system failures, e.g. for fault diagnosis, failsafe operation or limp mode · CPC title

• B60L3/0061

  relating to electrical machines · CPC title

• B60W2710/083

  Torque · CPC title

• B60L50/15

  with additional electric power supply (with capacitors charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/40; with batteries charged by engine-driven generators B60L50/61) · CPC title

• B60L3/0084

  relating to control modules · CPC title