The present invention relates to a pump, and more specifically, a pump having electrical contacts.
Pumps are used to control flow rate and pressure of a fluid and/or gas and direct the fluid and/or gas to other devices. Vehicles typically include a plurality of pumps to control the flow of various fluids throughout the vehicle. Pumps are configured to perform operations in the event an event occurs, for example if an error condition is detected. Pumps also may be assigned different addresses by a system controller vehicle. However, known designs may be met with cost and wiring savings constraints.
The disclosure provides, in one aspect, a vehicle system including a pump having a motor and a pullout configuration with an electrical contact. The electrical contact receives and transmits signals related to an operation of the pump and an address selection. The pump also includes a motor controller. The vehicle system includes a system controller bus communicatively connected to the pinout configuration and a system controller communicatively connected to the pump via the system controller bus. The system controller determines that the electrical contact is energized, determines that a resistor is electrically connected to the electrical contact after determining that the electrical contact is energized, determines a resistance value of the resistor after determining that the resistor is electrically connected to the electrical contact, identifies the pump based on the resistance value, and transmits a control signal to the motor controller to control the operation of the pump.
The disclosure provides, in another aspect, a method for controlling a pump of a vehicle. The method includes receiving power at the pump, determining, via a system controller, that an electrical contact is energized, determining, via the system controller, that a resistor is electrically connected to the electrical contact after determining that the electrical contact is energized, and determining, via the system controller, a resistance value of the resistor after determining that the resistor is electrically connected to the electrical contact. The method also includes identifying, via the system controller, the pump based on the resistance value, receiving, via a motor controller, a control signal from the system controller, and controlling, via the motor controller, an operation of a motor of the pump based on the control signal.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.
The pump 150 includes a pump housing 155 and an outlet tube 160. As described above, the pump 150 is a component making up part of the vehicle system and the outlet tube 160 is fluidly coupled to the first tube 110 of the valve 100. In some embodiments, the pump 150 includes an electrical port (further described below in reference to
The motor controller 230 is electrically connected to the motor 235 and provides one or more control signals to operate the motor 235. The motor controller 230 includes a plurality of electrical and electronic components that provide power, operational control, and protection to the components and modules within the motor controller 230 and/or the motor 235. For example, the motor controller 230 includes, among other things, a processing unit (e.g., a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or another suitable programmable device) and a memory unit. In some embodiments, the motor controller 230 is implemented partially or entirely on a semiconductor (e.g., a field-programmable gate array [“FPGA”] semiconductor, an application specific integrated circuit [“ASIC”], or other programmable semiconductor devices as appropriate for a given application) chip, such as a chip developed through a register transfer level (“RTL”) design process. In one example, upon receiving a control signal, the motor controller 230 controls and/or operates the switching of a plurality of electronic switches (e.g., FETs), in order to selectively drive the motor 235 at a speed and/or direction. In some embodiments, the motor controller 230 and the motor 235 form a single unit. In other embodiments, the motor controller 230 and the motor 235 are individual components of the pump 200A.
The pump 200A includes a plurality of electrical connectors (e.g., inputs, outputs, input/outputs [e.g., general purpose input/output “GPIO”], etc.). In some embodiments, the plurality of electrical connectors (for example, electrical contacts) includes a battery positive connector A, a battery negative (e.g., ground) connector B, a control signal connector C, an enable signal connector D, and an operation (e.g., error operation) connector E.
With continued reference to
The system controller 250 can include a plurality of electrical and electronic components that provide power, operational control, and protection to the components and modules within the system controller 250 and/or the pump 200A. For example, the system controller 250 includes, among other things, a processing unit (e.g., a microprocessor, a microcontroller, or another suitable programmable device) and a memory. In some embodiments, the system controller 250 is implemented partially or entirely on a semiconductor (e.g., a field-programmable gate array [“FPGA”] semiconductor, an application specific integrated circuit [“ASIC”], or other programmable semiconductor devices as appropriate for a given application) chip, such as a chip developed through a register transfer level (“RTL”) design process.
The memory includes, for example, a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area and the data storage area can include combinations of different types of memory, such as read-only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”) (e.g., dynamic RAM [“DRAM”], synchronous DRAM [“SDRAM”], etc.), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory, a hard disk, an SD card, or other suitable magnetic, optical, physical, or electronic memory devices. The illustrated processing unit is connected to the memory and executes software instructions that are capable of being stored in a RAM of the memory (e.g., during execution), a ROM of the memory (e.g., on a generally permanent basis), or another non-transitory computer readable medium such as another memory or a disc. Software included in some implementations of the pump 200A can be stored in the memory of the system controller 250. The software can include, for example, firmware, one or more applications, program data, filters, rules, one or more program modules, and other executable instructions. The system controller 250 is configured to retrieve from memory and execute, among other things, instructions related to the control processes and methods described herein. In other constructions, the system controller 250 includes additional, fewer, or different components.
In operation, the system controller 250 outputs a control signal to the motor controller 230. The motor controller 230 receives the control signal and operates the motor 235 based on the control signal. In some embodiments, the control signal is a pulse-width modulated signal. The pulse-width modulated signal can have a duty cycle (e.g., 10%, 50%, 100%, etc.). In some embodiments, the duty cycle corresponds to an operating speed of the motor 235 (e.g., 10% of full speed, 50% of full speed, 100% of full speed, etc.).
The system controller 250 may further include a communications module. The communications module provides analog and/or digital communications from the system controller 250 to outside devices. In some embodiments, the communications module outputs diagnostic information concerning the system controller 250 and/or other components of the cooling system. The communications module may include an output driver in the form of a digital driver such as SAE J1939, CAN bus, or LIN bus for communicating directly to the vehicle's data bus, or the communications module may generate another suitable analog or digital signal depending on the needs of the specific application. The communication module may further be configured to receive data from one or more data buses within the vehicle, such as SAE J1939, CAN bus, and/or LIN bus.
As described above, the pump 200A is in electrical communication with the system controller 250 or system controller bus 255 via the control signal connector C, in which the pump 200A receives a control signal from the system controller 250 or system controller bus 255 indicative of a control operation and a control address. In some embodiments, a resistor is electrically connected in line (e.g., in series) with the operation connector E (e.g., Pin A in
In some embodiments, the resistance value of the resistor is based on a voltage level detected at the operation connector E connection point to the resistor. In other embodiments, the resistance value of the resistor is based on a measured current flowing through the resistor. Additionally, combinations of voltages across the resistor and/or current through the resistor may be used to determine a resistance value of the resistor. In some examples, the system controller 250 determines the resistance of the resistor. The pump 200A may be identified based on the measured value of resistance and perform an operation (e.g., the error operation) based on any control signal received via the operation connector E. In some embodiments, a plurality of pumps can be connected to the system controller 250 via the system controller bus 255. Therefore, each pump of the plurality of pumps includes a different resistor with a different resistance value. The different resistance value of each resistor allows for identification of each pump.
At step 410, the system controller 250 determines that the operation connector E is operable by the system controller 250. For example, the system controller 250 determines that the operation connector E is energized or power is detected by the system controller 250 on the operation connector E. If the operation connector E is not determined to be operable by the system controller 250, the method 400 returns to step 405. The method 400 then proceeds to step 415. At step 415, the system controller 250 determines that the pump 200A is connected to the system controller bus 455. For example, the system controller 250 determines that the control signal connector C is energized and operable by the system controller 250. The method 400 then proceeds to step 420.
At step 420, the system controller 250 determines whether a resistor is detected in line with the operation connector E. For example, the system controller 250 measures the voltage and/or current at the operation connector E. If the system controller 250 determines a difference from an expected voltage and/or current at the operation connector E, the system controller determines that the resistor is in line with the operation connector E. In response to determining that the resistor is not detected in line with the operation connector E, the method 400 returns to step 415. The method 400 proceeds to step 425 in response to the system controller 450 determining that the resistor is in line with the operation connector E.
At step 425, the resistance value of the resistor is measured. For example, the system controller 250 may measure combinations of voltages across the resistor and/or current through the resistor may be used to determine a resistance value of the resistor. The method 400 proceeds to step 430. At step 430, the pump 200A is identified by the system controller 250 based on the determined resistance value. The system controller 250 assigns an address (via the system controller bus 255) to the pump 200A based on the identification of the pump 200A. For example, the system controller 250 assigns the first address to the pump 200A based on determining the first resistance value, assigns the second address to the pump 200A based on determining the second resistance value, and so on. The system controller 250 assigns the address to the pump 200A based on a CAN communication protocol, as described above. In some instances, the system controller 250 determines that the operation connector E is electrically open. In such instances, the system controller 250 identifies the pump 200A and assigns an address to the pump 200A based on determining that the operation connector E is electrically open. For example, the system controller 250 determined that the operation connector E is electrically open and assigns a default address to the pump 200A to the pump 200A. The default address assigned to the pump 200A when the operation connector E is electrically open is different than any address assigned to the pump 200A when the resistor is determined to be in line with the operation connector E. When the operation connector E is electrically open, the pump 200A may not perform an error operation via the motor 235. In some instances, the system controller 250 determines that the operation connector E is electrically connected to the power source terminal without a resistor. In such instances, the system controller identifies the pump 200A and assigns an address to the pump 200A based on determining that the operation connector E is electrically connected to the power source terminal. The address assigned to the pump 200A when the operation connector E is electrically connected to the power source terminal is different than any address assigned to the pump 200A when the resistor is determined to be in line with the operation connector E or the operation connector E is electrically open. The method 400 then proceeds to step 435.
At step 435, the system controller 250 determines whether the operation needs to be enabled. For example, the system controller 250 determines that an error operation (e.g., no control signal from the system controller 250 is able to be sent via the control signal connector C or a loss of power occurs) is occurring. In response to determining that the operation needs to be enabled, the method 400 proceeds to enable (e.g., activate) the operation at step 440. In some instances, the operation is an error operation, as described above. In response to the system controller 250 determining that no operation is needed, the method returns to step 430. At step 440, the system controller 250 transmits a control signal to the motor controller 230 to control the operation. The motor controller 230 enables the operation of the pump 200A based on the motor controller 230 receiving the control signal. The method 400 then proceeds to step 445 in which the method 400 ends.
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the invention as described.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/323,900, filed on Mar. 25, 2022, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63323900 | Mar 2022 | US |