The present disclosure relates to controllers for winch motors, and more particularly to controllers for winch motors of off-road vehicles (for example, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles (UTVs), etc.)
Current winch products generally use brush motors. The introduction of Brushless DC (BLDC) motors and corresponding drives will improve power density and efficiency. Because BLDC motors may require microprocessors or similar intelligence, they also open the possibility to provide additional features and capabilities as compared to the comparatively simple controllers for brush motors. In this manner, such an intelligent winch system may also incorporate, for example, a Controller-Area Network (CAN) communication interface for communication with a vehicle controller.
The present disclosure may be embodied as a system for controlling a winch motor of an off-road vehicle. The system includes a processor and a communication interface in electronic communication with the processor. The communication interface is configured to receive a winch status. The communication interface may be configured for communication with a vehicle system, for example, over a Controller-Area Network (CAN) bus. The system includes a control circuit in electronic communication with the processor. The control circuit is configured to operate a winch motor at a first voltage when the winch status is a first mode. The control circuit is further configured to operate the winch motor at a second voltage when the winch status is in a second mode. The second voltage is higher than the first voltage. In some embodiments, the system further includes a winch motor in operable communication with the control circuit. In some embodiments, the system further includes a winch having a winch motor in operable communication with the control circuit.
In another aspect, the present disclosure may be embodied as a method of controlling a winch motor of an off-road vehicle. The method includes receiving a winch status from a vehicle controller. For example, the winch status may be received from a CAN bus. The winch status selectively indicates a first mode (torque mode) or a second mode (speed mode). The method includes operating the winch motor at a first voltage when the winch status indicates the first mode, and operating the winch motor at a second voltage when the winch status indicates the second mode. The second voltage is higher than the first voltage.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the disclosure, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure takes advantage of a controller that may be present on a BLDC solution, and the observation that there are two distinctly different operating power points unique to this style of winch:
With reference to
The system 10 includes a control circuit 30 in communication with the processor 20. The control circuit 30 is configured to operate a winch motor 90 at a first voltage when the winch status is a first mode (i.e., torque mode). For example, the first voltage may be 12 volts. As described above, the control circuit may provide, for example, 1500 watts or more at the first voltage (e.g., 12 volts). The operating power and/or first voltage may be higher or lower than the 1500 watts and 12 volts used in the examples of this disclosure. The control circuit is also configured to operate the winch motor at a second voltage when the winch status is a second mode (i.e., speed mode). For example, the second voltage may be 24 volts. The control circuit may provide, for example, 100 watts at the second voltage (e.g., 24 volts) when in the second mode. Here again, the operating power may be higher or lower than the 1500 watts used in the examples of this disclosure. The second voltage is higher than the first voltage. The control circuit may have any suitable architecture.
Table 1 shows the advantages and disadvantages of the architectures depicted in
It should be noted that the terms “winch mode,” “torque mode,” “plow mode,” and “speed mode” are used for convenience and are not intended to be limiting as to the application. For example, “plow mode” may be used for applications other than plowing. As initially described above, torque mode is intended to convey a high torque, low-to-medium speed operating mode, and speed mode is intended to convey a low-torque, high-speed operating mode (i.e., relative to torque mode). Additionally, any specific values for voltage, power, current, torque, speed, etc. provided herein are intended to be non-limiting examples solely to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, nominal input voltage may be other than 12 volts, and boost voltages are not necessarily two-times the nominal input voltage.
The processor 20 may be in communication with and/or include a memory. The memory can be, for example, a random-access memory (RAM) (e.g., a dynamic RAM, a static RAM), a flash memory, a removable memory, and/or so forth. In some instances, instructions associated with performing the operations described herein (e.g., operating a control circuit) can be stored within the memory and/or a storage medium (which, in some embodiments, includes a database in which the instructions are stored) and the instructions are executed at the processor.
In some instances, the processor includes one or more modules and/or components. Each module/component executed by the processor can be any combination of hardware-based module/component (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP)), software-based module (e.g., a module of computer code stored in the memory and/or in the database, and/or executed at the processor), and/or a combination of hardware- and software-based modules. Each module/component executed by the processor is capable of performing one or more specific functions/operations as described herein. In some instances, the modules/components included and executed in the processor can be, for example, a process, application, virtual machine, and/or some other hardware or software module/component. The processor can be any suitable processor configured to run and/or execute those modules/components. The processor can be any suitable processing device configured to run and/or execute a set of instructions or code. For example, the processor can be a general purpose processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), and/or the like.
In another embodiment, the present disclosure may be embodied as a method of controlling a winch motor of an ATV. The method includes receiving a winch status from a vehicle controller. For example, the winch status may be received from a CAN bus. The winch status selectively indicates a first mode (torque mode) or a second mode (speed mode). The winch motor is operated at a first voltage (for example, 12 volts) when the winch status indicates torque mode. And the winch motor is operated at a second voltage (for example, 24 volts), higher than the first voltage, when the winch status indicates speed mode.
Without a boost mode, a compromise motor designed for torque mode would have had about twice the motor phase currents. Motor current is the major thermal dissipation driver for the output switches and drives the sizes of connectors, etc. As thermal management will be one of the hardest design aspects, embodiments of the present disclosure greatly simplify this task.
Some exemplary characteristics embodiments presently-disclosed systems and methods may include:
Although the present disclosure has been described with respect to one or more particular embodiments, it will be understood that other embodiments of the present disclosure may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/958,280, filed on Jan. 7, 2020, now pending, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2021/012556 | 1/7/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62958280 | Jan 2020 | US |