Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Masaaki Shinojima

Masashi Hori

Kiyoshi Kimura

Tomoyuki Kashiwagi

Haruki Matsuzaki

Jun Yamada

Shigeru Kamio

Atsushi Kamada

Shigeru Yoshiyama

Yoshinobu Nozaki

Kazuhiro Yoshida

Hiroyuki Shintani

When electric power supply is started, an initial driving operation is performed to switch over a power supply phase of a motor in open-loop control. Initial learning processing is performed to learn a phase deviation correction value for the power supply phase relative to a count value of a pulse signal of an encoder. As a restraint caused by a shape of a detent mechanism, the motor need be rotationally driven so that a detent lever does not move in a negative direction beyond a bottom position of a P-range in the initial driving operation. In a case of performing the initial learning processing in the P-range in consideration of this restraint, the initial learning processing is performed by setting a rotation direction of the motor.

Range switchover apparatus

A SBW-ECU prohibits driving of an electric motor by turning off power supply to the motor by a drive prohibition device, when a diagnosis part of a by-wire control circuit determines that a shift-by-wire system is abnormal or a monitor circuit determines that the by-wire control circuit is abnormal. In this case, the motor is stopped from rotating by execution of power supply phase fixation processing, by which a power supply phase of the motor is fixed without switchover, when the motor is driven to rotate at the time of determination of abnormality of the shift-by-wire system. Then the prohibition device prohibits driving of the motor by stopping the power supply to the motor.

Vehicle control system

A motor control apparatus that controls rotation of a rotor of an electric motor powered from an electric power source includes a learning portion that executes an initial drive learning process, and a controller that executes a normal drive operation to sequentially change an exciting phase of the electric motor based on a count value of a counter which is corrected by a correcting portion such that the rotor is rotated to a target position after an initial drive operation is finished. The learning portion re-executes the initial drive learning process after a predetermined condition is satisfied, when the initial drive learning process is failed.

Motor control apparatus

When a vehicle electric power source is turned on, and when a target mode position is other than a parking (P)-mode position and a driving (D)-mode position or the target mode position is unfixed, a shift-by-wire electronic control unit (SBW-ECU) does not drive the actuator so that the current actual mode position is maintained. The SBW-ECU accepts only the driver's requirement for changing the mode position to the P-mode position or the D-mode position. When it is required to change the mode position to the P-mode position, a first position learning portion learns a first reference position. When it is required to change the mode position to the D-mode position, a second position learning portion learns a second reference position.

Shift-by-wire system

An ECU controls a starter relay. Output angle detector detects a rotational angle of an output shaft in a rotary actuator. The ECU stores a first rotational angle which is detected by the output angle detector when a starting switch is OFF. When the starting switch is ON and when the difference between a second rotational angle detected at that time by the output angle detector and the first rotational angle already stored is not within a certain value, the ECU inhibits the operation of the starter relay to inhibit engine start.

Drive-permission apparatus

A control apparatus for a range changeover device checks whether an actual range agrees with a target range. If the actual range differs from the target range, the control apparatus performs vehicle driving force restriction control irrespective of a presence/absence of abnormality in a range changeover operation. The control apparatus may restrict an engine output power by closing a throttle valve of the engine to around an idle position, thereby restricting the vehicle driving force.

Control apparatus for shift range changeover device

A position shift control apparatus is provided which includes an electrical motor joined to an object through an output shaft and a torque transmission mechanism, a detent mechanism producing elastic pressure to hold the object at a target position, and a motor controller. When torque, which is created by the elastic pressure produced by the detent mechanism and acts on the output shaft during rotation of the motor, is opposite in orientation to that outputted by the motor, the motor controller determines the angular position of the motor, as sampled upon a change in an output from an output shaft position sensor, as a reference angular position of the motor for use in controlling the position of the motor, thereby resulting in a decrease in mechanical load on the detent mechanism and the torque transmission mechanism to ensure the durability and operation accuracy of the apparatus.

Position shift control apparatus ensuring durability and operation accuracy thereof

A controller determines the state of the range detector on the basis of the detection signals detected by the range detector, then when the range detector is determined to be in an abnormal condition, the controller moves the shift-changing valve until the movement is inhibited by the restriction member, thereby establishes the position of one end, and controls the actuator with respect to the established one end position and on the basis of the amount of operation to move the shift-changing valve to the position corresponding to an instructed shift range. Even when the range detector is in an abnormal condition, it is possible to make a change to the shift range corresponding to a shift range changing command.

By utilizing a mechanical backlash generated between an electric actuator and a shift range switching mechanism, a specific region is obtained, in which a variation in the output shaft angle is relatively small with respect to a variation in rotor angle. In this specific range, an actual shift range position is calculated, whereby the rotor angle that the motor controller recognizes is corrected so as to relate the actual shift range position. A deviation between the rotor angle and the actual shift range is corrected, so that the shift range switching is precisely performed.

Shift range switching apparatus

A vehicle control system is disclosed. The vehicle control system includes a by-wire system with an actuator for changing vehicle conditions and a by-wire control circuit that electrically controls the actuator according to a command for changing the vehicle conditions by a vehicle passenger. The vehicle control system further includes a monitoring control device having a control circuit that is different from the by-wire control circuit and that monitors the by-wire system on the basis of monitoring information received from the by-wire system. The vehicle control system also includes an inhibiting device that inhibits the control of the actuator by the by-wire control circuit on receiving a control command from the monitoring control device when the monitoring control device confirms a fault of the by-wire system.

A second member and a first member are applied with bias force to mechanically engage with each other at one of detent positions defining relative positions therebetween. An electric motor rotating a rotor therein when being supplied with electricity. Rotation of the rotor is transmitted to an output shaft manipulating the first member. A main controller controls the electric motor to switch the one of the plurality of detent positions. A rotor angle detecting unit detects rotor angle of the rotor. An output angle detecting unit detects output angle of the output shaft. The main controller includes a backlash calculating unit that calculates a backlash amount between the rotor and the first member in accordance with at least one of occurrence of a first region, in which change in the output angle is small with respect to change in the rotor angle, and a range of the rotor angle in the first region. The main controller incorporates the backlash amount into the control of the electric motor.

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Chiryu, Japan

Masaaki Shinojima