The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 08, 2004
Filed:
Jan. 27, 2003
Satoshi Yoshimura, Kariya, JP;
Denso Corporation, Kariya, JP;
Abstract
A cooling fan motor drive apparatus for use in vehicle is equipped with first to fourth semiconductor switches for driving first and second cooling fan motors upon receipt of a power supply voltage through power supply lines. A control unit implements control on openings and closures of the first to fourth switches to establish first and second power supply systems between first and second power supply lines for performing serial and parallel operations of the first and second cooling fan motors. The control unit closes the second and fourth semiconductor switches when the first and second cooling fan motors are driven in series and closes the first, second and third semiconductor switches when the first and second cooling fan motors are drive in parallel. When an overcurrent flows in the cooling fan motors, the control unit conducts the serial operation of the cooling fan motors irrespective of an operation command signal, and at the start-up of the drive apparatus, the control unit conducts the serial operation thereof for a predetermined time period. This drive apparatus can be located in the vicinity of the cooling fan motors and, even if an abnormal condition occurs temporarily, can restore to a normal condition after the recovery.