JP2008303748A - Motor driver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small motor driver hardly to fail, in a valve timing adjusting device for adjusting the valve timing of an internal combustion engine using a rotation output of an electric motor, as a motor driver for energizing and driving the electric motor. <P>SOLUTION: A connector 82 electrically connected in the motor driver 80 with the exterior has a power terminal 84 to which a supply voltage is supplied from the exterior, a ground terminal 85 grounded at the exterior, and a signal terminal 89 interposed between the power terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 and serves for exchanging signals with a control circuit that controls the motor driver 80 from the exterior. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a motor driver for energizing and driving an electric motor in a valve timing adjusting device (hereinafter referred to as “electric valve timing adjusting device”) that adjusts the valve timing of an internal combustion engine using the rotational output of the electric motor.

Generally, the motor driver of the electric valve timing adjusting device is provided with a connector that is electrically connected to the outside. For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, such a connector transmits a signal between a power supply terminal to which a power supply voltage is supplied from the outside, a ground terminal grounded at the outside, and a control circuit for controlling the motor driver from the outside. It has a signal terminal for inputting and outputting.
JP 2005-264898 A

  In the motor driver connector as described above, the current flowing between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal tends to increase, while the current flowing to the signal terminal tends to decrease. Therefore, it is common that the power supply terminal and the ground terminal are provided adjacent to each other on the same connector, while the signal terminal is provided on a separate connector away from the power supply terminal and the ground terminal. However, in such a terminal arrangement, the power supply terminal and the grounding terminal adjacent to each other may be short-circuited and the motor driver may be broken, and the physique of the motor driver is increased by dividing the connector into two parts. There was also a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent a motor driver of an electric valve timing adjusting device from being broken and miniaturized.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the valve timing adjusting device that adjusts the valve timing of the internal combustion engine using the rotational output of the electric motor, a connector that is electrically connected to the outside is provided and the electric motor is energized and driven. The motor driver, the connector is interposed between the power supply terminal to which the power supply voltage is supplied from the outside, the ground terminal to be grounded outside, and the power supply terminal and the ground terminal, the control for controlling the motor driver from the outside And at least one signal terminal for inputting / outputting a signal to / from the circuit.

  Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the signal terminal is interposed between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal, it is possible to avoid a short circuit between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal. In addition, even if the power supply terminal or the ground terminal is short-circuited with the signal terminal between the terminals, the voltage level of the signal input / output between the signal terminal and the control circuit changes according to the short-circuit. At the time of change, it is possible to cope with the occurrence of a short circuit abnormality. According to these, it is possible to appropriately deal with the short circuit abnormality and prevent the motor driver from being broken. In addition, since the signal terminal is provided in the same connector together with the power supply terminal and the ground terminal, the motor driver can be reduced in size.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, one signal terminal is interposed between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal. As a result, the voltage level changes in the signal of the same signal terminal that is interposed between the terminals even when the power supply terminal is short-circuited or the ground terminal is short-circuited, thus simplifying the processing to cope with the short-circuit abnormality can do.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the noise filter is electrically connected between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal. In the configuration in which the noise filter is electrically connected between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal as described above, the noise absorption accuracy of the noise filter decreases as the distance between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal increases. However, between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal with only one signal terminal interposed therebetween, the distance can be shortened as much as possible to improve the noise absorption accuracy of the noise filter, while ensuring the countermeasure against the short circuit abnormality.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the signal terminal adjacent to the power supply terminal outputs an information signal representing the specific information to the control circuit by the duty ratio or frequency relating to the alternating voltage level. According to this, under normal conditions where the power supply terminal is not short-circuited to the adjacent signal terminal, the voltage level of the information signal output from the signal terminal to the control circuit alternates according to the duty ratio or frequency. On the other hand, when the power supply terminal is short-circuited with the signal terminal, the voltage level of the information signal output from the signal terminal to the control circuit is forced to the power supply voltage. Abnormalities can be grasped and dealt with.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal outputs an information signal representing the specific information to the control circuit by the duty ratio or frequency relating to the alternating voltage level. According to this, in a state where the ground terminal is not short-circuited to the adjacent signal terminal, the voltage level of the information signal output from the signal terminal to the control circuit alternates according to the duty ratio or the frequency. On the other hand, if the ground terminal is short-circuited with the signal terminal, the voltage level of the information signal output from the signal terminal to the control circuit is forced to the ground voltage. Abnormalities can be grasped and dealt with.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the specific information is normal / abnormal information of the motor driver. According to this, under the short-circuit abnormality of the signal terminal, the information signal that originally represents the normal abnormality information of the motor driver is forced to a voltage level corresponding to the short-circuit abnormality. Therefore, in the control of the motor driver by the control circuit, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a control error due to the short circuit abnormality of the signal terminal.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a control signal that commands energization of the electric motor when the voltage level becomes high is input from the control circuit to the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal. According to this, in a state where the ground terminal is not short-circuited with the adjacent signal terminal, the control signal input from the control circuit to the signal terminal becomes high level, thereby energizing the electric motor is realized. . On the other hand, if the ground terminal is short-circuited with the signal terminal, the voltage level of the control signal input from the control circuit to the signal terminal is forced to a low level ground voltage. It is possible to prevent the driver from being broken by cutting off the power to the driver.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, at least one signal terminal different from the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal is interposed between the power terminal of the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal. According to this, since the signal terminal to which the control signal is input has another signal terminal interposed between the signal terminal and the power supply terminal, the voltage level of the control signal is increased due to a short circuit between the signal terminal and the power supply terminal. It is possible to prevent the energization of the electric motor from being forced by the power supply voltage of the level to be erroneously continued.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the connector in which a plurality of terminals including a power terminal, a ground terminal, and a signal terminal are arranged, the power terminal is arranged at the arrangement end. As described above, the power supply terminal arranged at the arrangement end of each terminal is in a state where no other terminal is adjacent to the side opposite to the side where the signal terminal is interposed between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal. According to this, it is possible to realize a motor driver that is less likely to break down by halving the probability that a short circuit abnormality will occur in the power supply terminal.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, in the connector in which a plurality of terminals including a power supply terminal, a ground terminal, and a signal terminal are arranged, the ground terminal is arranged at the arrangement end. As described above, the ground terminal arranged at the arrangement end of each terminal is in a state where no other terminal is adjacent to the side opposite to the side where the signal terminal is interposed between the ground terminal and the power terminal. According to this, the probability that a short-circuit abnormality will occur in the ground terminal can be halved, and a motor driver that is less likely to fail can be realized.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol to the corresponding component in each embodiment.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 shows an electric valve timing adjusting apparatus 1 including a motor driver 80 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The electric valve timing adjusting device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and adjusts the valve timing of the intake valve of the internal combustion engine by driving the phase adjusting unit 20 using the rotational output of the electric unit 10.

  First, the electric unit 10 will be described. The electric unit 10 includes an electric motor 60, a motor driver 80, a control circuit 90, and the like.

  The electric motor 60 is a three-phase brushless motor, and includes a motor housing 61, a motor shaft 62, a bearing 63, a motor rotor 64, a stator core 65, a coil 66, and a bobbin 67. The motor housing 61 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and is fixed to the fixed node 6 of the internal combustion engine.

  The motor shaft 62 is supported by a bearing 63 accommodated and fixed in the motor housing 61 so as to be rotatable forward and backward, and is connected to the phase adjustment unit 20 through the bottom of the motor housing 61. An annular plate-like motor rotor 64 is concentrically fixed to a portion of the motor shaft 62 accommodated in the motor housing 61. The motor rotor 64 is provided with a magnet portion 64 a so that magnetic poles formed on the outer peripheral side are alternately switched in the rotation direction of the motor shaft 62.

  The stator core 65 is formed in an annular plate shape, and is housed and fixed at a location on the outer peripheral side of the motor rotor 64 in the motor housing 61. The stator core 65 is formed with a plurality of tooth portions 65 a so as to be spaced at equal intervals in the rotation direction of the motor shaft 62. The plurality of coils 66 are wound around corresponding tooth portions 65 a via bobbins 67. Each coil 66 is excited by energization to generate a rotating magnetic field that acts on the magnet portion 64 a of the motor rotor 64. Therefore, when the rotating magnetic field in the forward direction that is the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 is formed, the motor shaft 62 is rotationally driven in the forward direction. On the other hand, when a rotating magnetic field in the reverse direction, which is the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 3, is formed, the motor shaft 62 is rotationally driven in the reverse direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor driver 80 includes a driver housing 81, a connector 82, and a driver circuit 83. The driver housing 81 is formed in a hollow box shape as a whole, and houses the driver circuit 83 in a state of being fixed to the opening side of the motor housing 61.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 82 is provided in the driver housing 81 and has a plurality of terminals 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 that are electrically connected to the outside. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 84 is a power supply terminal 84 electrically connected to the vehicle battery 8 as an external power supply, and the power supply voltage Vb is supplied from the battery 8. The terminal 85 is a ground terminal 85 that is electrically connected to the ground element 9 of the vehicle that is externally connected and grounded, and a zero voltage is supplied as the ground voltage Vg. Furthermore, the terminals 86, 87, 88, 89 are electrically connected to the control circuit 90, and signal terminals 86, 87 for inputting / outputting information signals representing specific information to / from the control circuit 90. , 88, 89. As described above, in the present embodiment, the power supply terminals 84 and 85 and the signal terminals 86, 87, 88, and 89 are provided in the common connector 82, thereby reducing the size.

  The driver circuit 83 is electrically connected to each coil 66 of the electric motor 60 and each terminal 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 of the connector 82. The driver circuit 83 rotates the motor shaft 62 by energizing each coil 66.

  The control circuit 90 disposed outside the housings 61 and 81 (see FIG. 2) has a power supply voltage Vb due to electrical connection with the vehicle battery 8 and a ground voltage due to electrical connection with the vehicle grounding element 9. Vg is supplied. The control circuit 90 inputs / outputs signals to / from the signal terminals 86, 87, 88, 89 of the connector 82 connected to the control circuit 90, and controls energization of the coils 66 by the driver circuit 83.

  Next, the phase adjustment unit 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the phase adjustment unit 20 includes a driving side rotating body 22, a driven side rotating body 24, a planetary gear mechanism 30, a link mechanism 50, and the like.

  The drive-side rotator 22 is a timing sprocket around which a timing chain is wound between the crankshaft of the internal combustion engine. When the output torque of the crankshaft is input to the drive-side rotator 22, the drive-side rotator 22 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIGS. 4 and 5 while maintaining a relative phase with the crankshaft in conjunction with the crankshaft. The driven-side rotator 24 is coaxially connected to the cam shaft 2 of the internal combustion engine, and rotates in the clockwise direction in FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the planetary gear mechanism 30 includes a sun gear 31, a planet carrier 32, a planetary gear 33, and a transmission rotating body 34. The sun gear 31 formed of an internal gear is screwed coaxially to the drive side rotator 22 and rotates integrally with the drive side rotator 22 by transmission of the output torque of the crankshaft. The planet carrier 32 is connected to the motor shaft 62 through the joint 35 and rotates integrally with the motor shaft 62. The planetary carrier 32 forms an eccentric portion 36 by a cylindrical outer peripheral surface portion that is eccentric with respect to the driving side rotating body 22. The planetary gear 33 made of an external gear is fitted to the eccentric portion 36 via the bearing 37 and is arranged eccentrically with respect to the sun gear 31. The planetary gear 33 is meshed with the sun gear 31 from the inner peripheral side, and performs planetary motion according to the relative rotation of the motor shaft 62 with respect to the drive-side rotating body 22. The transmission rotator 34 is fitted on the driven-side rotator 24 concentrically. The transmission rotating body 34 is provided with a plurality of engagement holes 38 arranged at equal intervals in the rotation direction. The planetary gear 33 is provided with a plurality of engagement protrusions 39 protruding into the engagement holes 38. Then, when each of the engagement protrusions 39 engages with the engagement hole 38, the rotation motion of the planetary gear 33 is extracted and converted into the rotation motion of the transmission rotating body 34.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the link mechanism 50 includes links 52 and 53, a guide portion 54, and a movable body 56. In FIGS. 4 and 5, hatching representing a cross section is omitted for easy understanding of the description. The first link 52 is connected to the drive-side rotator 22 by a pair. The second link 53 is connected to the driven-side rotating body 24 by a turning pair and is connected to the first link 52 by a turning pair via the movable body 56. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the guide portion 54 is formed by a portion including an end surface on the opposite side to the planetary gear 33 in the transmission rotating body 34. A guide groove 58 in which the movable body 56 is slidably fitted is formed in the guide portion 54. The guide groove 58 is formed in a spiral groove shape whose distance from the rotation center of the guide portion 54 changes in the longitudinal direction.

  In the phase adjustment unit 20 having such a configuration, when the motor shaft 62 does not rotate relative to the drive-side rotator 22, the planetary gear 33 rotates integrally with the drive-side rotator 22 and the transmission rotator 34 without planetary motion. To do. As a result, the movable body 56 is not guided in the guide groove 58, and the relative positional relationship between the links 52 and 53 does not change. Therefore, the relative phase between the driving side rotating body 22 and the driven side rotating body 24, and hence the valve timing, is adjusted. The relative phase between the determined crankshaft and camshaft 2 (hereinafter referred to as “engine phase”) is maintained. On the other hand, when the motor shaft 62 rotates relative to the drive side rotator 22 in the forward rotation direction, the transmission rotator 34 rotates relative to the drive side rotator 22 counterclockwise in FIG. To do. As a result, the movable body 56 is guided in the guide groove 58 and the relative positional relationship between the links 52 and 53 changes, so that the driven side rotating body 24 rotates relative to the driving side rotating body 22 in the clockwise direction in FIG. Therefore, the engine phase is advanced. On the other hand, when the motor shaft 62 rotates relative to the drive-side rotator 22 in the reverse rotation direction, the engine phase is retarded by the principle opposite to that in the relative rotation drive in the forward rotation direction.

  Next, the electric circuit configuration of the electric unit 10 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the electric motor 60 is provided with three rotation angle sensors SU, SV, SW. Each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW is composed of, for example, a Hall element or the like, and is positioned at a predetermined interval in the rotation direction of the motor shaft 62. Each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW generates a detection signal representing the actual rotation angle θ of the motor shaft 62 by sensing the magnetic field formed by the sensor magnet 68 attached to the motor shaft 62.

  Here, each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW electrically connected to the vehicle battery 8 and the grounding element 9 via the driver circuit 83 sets the voltage level of the detection signal as shown in FIG. Switching is made between a high level H substantially matching the voltage Vb and a low level L substantially matching the ground voltage Vg. For such voltage switching, each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW is turned on when the N pole of the sensor magnet 68 is located within the set sensing range, and the voltage level of the detection signal is set to a high level. Let H be. Further, each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW is turned off when the S pole of the sensor magnet 68 is located in the respective sensing range, and the voltage level of the detection signal is set to the low level L.

  The control circuit 90 shown in FIG. 6 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and also serves as a control circuit for the internal combustion engine in this embodiment. The control circuit 90 calculates the actual valve timing based on the actual rotation direction Dr and the actual rotation speed Sr of the motor shaft 62 given from the driver circuit 83 through the signal terminals 86 and 87, and also based on the operation status of the internal combustion engine. To calculate the target valve timing. Further, the control circuit 90 sets the target rotational direction Dt and the target rotational speed St of the motor shaft 62 based on the calculated phase difference between the actual valve timing and the target valve timing. Further, the control circuit 90 generates a signal representing the set target rotation direction Dt and target rotation speed St as a control signal for instructing energization of each coil 66, and outputs the signal to the signal terminal 88. In the following description, a signal terminal 88 that receives a control signal from the control circuit 90 is referred to as a “control signal terminal 88” and is distinguished from other signal terminals.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the control circuit 90 electrically connected to the vehicle battery 8 and the grounding element 9 sets the voltage level of the control signal to a high level H substantially equal to the power supply voltage Vb and grounding. Alternating between low levels L that substantially match the voltage Vg. For such voltage alternation, the control circuit 90 realizes the target rotational direction Dt and the target rotational speed St so as to be expressed by the duty ratio and frequency of the control signal, respectively.

  Specifically, the duty ratio of the control signal is the ratio of the time Thc when the control signal is at the high level H in one cycle Tpc of the voltage alternation shown in FIG. 8, and as shown in FIG. A discrete value corresponding to is assigned. In particular, in the present embodiment, binary values excluding 0% and 100% are adopted as the duty ratio when the target rotation direction Dt is the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction, and the motors are cut by energizing each coil 66. 0% is adopted as the duty ratio when the shaft 62 is stopped. In other words, a binary value excluding 0% and 100% is adopted as the duty ratio when the control signal is periodically set to the high level H to command energization, and the control signal is continuously set to the low level L. 0% is adopted as the duty ratio when the power cut is commanded.

  On the other hand, the frequency of the control signal is the reciprocal of the cycle Tpc shown in FIG. 8, and a value that continuously changes according to the target rotational speed St as shown in FIG. 9, particularly a value that linearly changes in this embodiment. Will be.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the driver circuit 83 is provided with a signal generation block 100 and an energization block 110. In the present embodiment, each of the blocks 100 and 110 is configured by hardware using dedicated electric circuit elements.

  The signal generation block 100 is electrically connected to each rotation angle sensor SU, SV, SW, terminals 84, 85, 86, 87 and the energization block 110. The signal generation block 100 calculates the actual rotation direction Dr and the actual rotation speed Sr of the motor shaft 62 based on the detection signals of the rotation angle sensors SU, SV, SW representing the actual rotation angle θ of the motor shaft 62, respectively. Further, the signal generation block 100 generates a direction signal as an information signal representing the calculated actual rotation direction Dr, and outputs the signal from the signal terminal 86 to the control circuit 90. At the same time, the signal generation block 100 generates a rotation speed signal as an information signal representing the calculated actual rotation speed Sr, and outputs the signal from the signal terminal 87 to the control circuit 90. In the following description, a signal terminal 86 that outputs a direction signal is referred to as a “direction signal terminal 86”, and a signal terminal 87 that outputs a rotation speed signal is referred to as a “rotation speed signal terminal 87”. To distinguish.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the signal generation block 100 sets the voltage level of the direction signal between a high level H substantially matching the power supply voltage Vb and a low level L substantially matching the ground voltage Vg. Switch. And about this voltage switching, the signal generation block 100 is implement | achieved so that the actual rotation direction Dr may be represented by the level of the voltage level of a direction signal. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the low level L is adopted as the voltage level of the direction signal when the actual rotation direction Dr is the forward rotation direction, and the high level H is adopted when the actual rotation direction Dr is the reverse rotation direction. .

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the signal generation block 100 sets the voltage level of the rotation speed signal between a high level H substantially matching the power supply voltage Vb and a low level L substantially matching the ground voltage Vg. , Make them alternate. Then, for such a voltage alternation, the signal generation block 100 realizes the actual rotational speed Sr by the frequency of the rotational speed signal. Specifically, in this embodiment, each time the voltage level of the detection signals of the rotation angle sensors SU, SV, SW is switched as shown in FIG. The frequency of the signal is made proportional to the actual rotational speed Sr.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the energization block 110 includes a filter unit 112, a bridge unit 113, and an energization processing unit 114.

  The filter unit 112 as a noise filter includes an inductor 115 and capacitors 116 and 117 as constituent elements. Here, both ends of the inductor 115 are electrically connected to the power supply terminal 84 and the bridge portion 113. Both ends of the first capacitor 116 are electrically connected to the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85. Both ends of the second capacitor 117 are electrically connected to the end opposite to the power supply terminal 84 of the inductor 115 and the ground terminal 85. With the above connection form, a π-type filter unit 112 including an inductor 115 and capacitors 116 and 117 is formed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, and the function of the filter unit 112 causes the power supply terminal 84 and the ground to be grounded. The noise of the terminal 85 is absorbed.

  The bridge unit 113 is a three-phase bridge circuit having three arms 120u, 120v, and 120w as components. Both ends of each arm 120u, 120v, 120w are electrically connected to the opposite end of the inductor 115 from the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85. The midpoint of each arm 120u, 120v, 120w is electrically connected to the corresponding coil 66 of the electric motor 60, respectively. One switching element 121 is provided on each side of each arm 120u, 120v, 120w across the midpoint.

  The energization processing unit 114 is formed of, for example, an IC, and is electrically connected to the terminals 85, 88, and 89, the opposite end of the inductor 115 from the power supply terminal 84, the signal generation block 100, and the bridge unit 113. The energization processing unit 114 includes a target rotation direction Dt and a target rotation speed St given from the control circuit 90 through the control signal terminal 88 by the control signal, and an actual rotation direction Dr given from the signal generation block 100 by the direction signal and the rotation speed signal. Based on the actual rotational speed Sr, the switching elements 121 of the arms 120u, 120v, 120w in the bridge 113 are individually turned on / off. As a result, the coils 66 connected to the arms 120u, 120v, and 120w are energized in a predetermined order to generate a rotating magnetic field, whereby the motor shaft 62 is rotationally driven.

  The energization processing unit 114 determines whether the bridge unit 113 is normal or abnormal. Here, the energization processing unit 114 of the present embodiment detects the midpoint voltage of each arm 120u, 120v, 120w, and determines the normal / abnormality of the bridge unit 113 from the detection result. In addition to determining based on the midpoint voltage, whether the bridge portion 113 is normal or abnormal is determined based on, for example, the current flowing through the shunt resistor 124 common to the arms 120u, 120v, and 120w. May be.

  Further, the energization processing unit 114 generates a monitor signal as an information signal representing the normal / abnormal information I reflecting the determination result of normal / abnormal, and outputs the signal from the signal terminal 89 to the control circuit 90. Therefore, when the normal / abnormal information I indicates an abnormality, the control circuit 90 can take an appropriate measure for the abnormality grasped based on the monitor signal. In the following description, a signal terminal 89 that outputs a monitor signal to the control circuit 90 is referred to as a “monitor signal terminal 89” and is distinguished from other signal terminals.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 12, the energization processing unit 114 sets the voltage level of the monitor signal between a high level H substantially matching the power supply voltage Vb and a low level L substantially matching the ground voltage Vg. Make it alternate. And about this voltage alternation, the energization processing part 114 implement | achieves so that the normal abnormality information I may be represented with the duty ratio of a monitor signal. Specifically, the duty ratio of the monitor signal is the ratio of the time Thm when the monitor signal is at the high level H in one cycle Tpm of the voltage alternation shown in FIG. 12, and corresponds to the normal / abnormal information I as shown in FIG. Discrete values are assigned. In particular, in the present embodiment, binary values excluding 0% and 100% are adopted as the duty ratio when the normal / abnormal information I is normal and abnormal.

  Next, a characteristic configuration of the connector 82 of the motor driver 80 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the connector 82 in which the terminals 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89 are arranged in a line, the power supply terminal 84 is arranged at one arrangement end, and the control signal terminal 88 is arranged at the other arrangement end. Is arranged. Between the power supply terminal 84 and the control signal terminal 88, the monitor signal terminal 89, the ground terminal 85, the direction signal terminal 86, and the rotation speed signal terminal 87 are arranged in this order from the power supply terminal 84 to the control signal terminal 88. It is lined up in the direction.

  With such an arrangement, since the monitor signal terminal 89 is interposed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, a short circuit between the terminals 84 and 85 hardly occurs. Further, the distance between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 in which only the monitor signal terminal 89 is interposed as a terminal can be reduced as much as possible. Therefore, according to the shortening of the distance, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the noise absorption accuracy of the filter unit 112 connected between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 as much as possible, and to suppress the malfunction of the energization block 110. It can be done.

  Here, the monitor signal terminal 89 between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 outputs a monitor signal representing the normal / abnormal information I of the bridge unit 113 to the control circuit 90 with a duty ratio excluding 0% and 100%. Therefore, when the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 adjacent to the monitor signal terminal 89 are not short-circuited, the control circuit 90 receives the monitor signal whose voltage level is correctly alternated with the period Tpm. Can do.

  On the other hand, under an abnormality in which the power supply terminal 84 is short-circuited with the monitor signal terminal 89, the monitor signal is forced to the power supply voltage Vb of the power supply terminal 84, that is, the high level H over the period Tpm. Therefore, the control circuit 90 that has received the monitor signal can deal with a short circuit abnormality between the power supply terminal 84 and the monitor signal terminal 89, distinguishing from the abnormality of the bridge unit 113. The power supply terminal 84 at the end of the array does not have an adjacent terminal on the opposite side to the monitor signal terminal 89, so that only the short circuit abnormality with the signal terminal 89 needs to be dealt with.

  On the other hand, under an abnormality in which the ground terminal 85 is short-circuited with the monitor signal terminal 89, the monitor signal is forced to the ground voltage Vg of the ground terminal 85, that is, the low level L over the period Tpm. Therefore, the control circuit 90 that has received the monitor signal can deal with a short circuit abnormality between the ground terminal 85 and the monitor signal terminal 89, distinguishing from the abnormality of the bridge unit 113.

  As for the ground terminal 85, the direction signal terminal 86 is adjacent to the opposite side of the monitor signal terminal 89, and there is a risk of short circuit with the signal terminal 86. However, when the ground terminal 85 is short-circuited with the direction signal terminal 86, the direction signal output from the signal terminal 86 to the control circuit 90 is forced to the ground voltage Vg, that is, the low level L. Therefore, in the control circuit 90, the direction signal remains at the low level L even though the target rotation direction Dt is set to the reverse rotation direction so that the actual rotation direction Dr becomes the reverse rotation direction that sets the direction signal to the high level H. If not, it is possible to cope with the occurrence of a short circuit abnormality between the ground terminal 85 and the direction signal terminal 86.

  According to the present embodiment described above, it is possible to realize the motor driver 80 that suppresses failures and malfunctions.

(Second embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 13, the second embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the first embodiment.

  Specifically, in the connector 282 of the second embodiment, the position of the monitor signal terminal 89 and the position of the rotation speed signal terminal 87 are switched with respect to the first embodiment. As a result, the rotation speed signal terminal 87 is interposed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, thereby suppressing a short circuit between the terminals 84 and 85 and a decrease in noise absorption accuracy of the filter unit 112.

  Here, the rotation speed signal output from the rotation speed signal terminal 87 between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 to the control circuit 90 represents the actual rotation speed Sr of the motor shaft 62 by the frequency. Therefore, when the power supply terminal 84 and the grounding terminal 85 adjacent to the rotational speed signal terminal 87 are not short-circuited, the rotational speed signal whose voltage level is correctly changed according to the actual rotational speed Sr is controlled. It can be received by circuit 90.

  On the other hand, under an abnormality in which the power supply terminal 84 is short-circuited with the rotation speed signal terminal 87, the rotation speed signal is forced to a high level H. Therefore, in the control circuit 90 that has received the rotation speed signal, when a high-level H rotation speed signal is continuously received for a set time or longer, a short circuit abnormality occurs between the power supply terminal 84 and the rotation speed signal terminal 87. It can be done.

  On the other hand, under an abnormality in which the ground terminal 85 is short-circuited to the rotation speed signal terminal 87, the rotation speed signal is forced to a low level L. Therefore, in the control circuit 90 that has received the rotation speed signal, when a low-level L rotation speed signal is continuously received for a set time or longer, a short-circuit abnormality occurs between the ground terminal 85 and the rotation speed signal terminal 87. It can be done.

(Third embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 14, the third embodiment of the present invention is a modification of the second embodiment.

  Specifically, in the connector 382 of the third embodiment, the position of the rotation speed signal terminal 87 and the position of the direction signal terminal 86 are interchanged with respect to the second embodiment. As a result, the direction signal terminal 86 is interposed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 to suppress a short circuit between the terminals 84 and 85 and a decrease in noise absorption accuracy of the filter unit 112.

  Here, the direction signal output from the direction signal terminal 86 between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 to the control circuit 90 represents the actual rotation direction Dr of the motor shaft 62 depending on the voltage level. Therefore, in a state where the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 adjacent to the direction signal terminal 86 are not short-circuited, the voltage level depends on the actual rotation direction Dr realized by the command of the target rotation direction Dt. A correctly set direction signal can be received by the control circuit 90.

  On the other hand, the direction signal is forced to a high level H under an abnormality in which the power supply terminal 84 is short-circuited with the direction signal terminal 86. Therefore, in the control circuit 90 that has received the direction signal, the direction signal is output in spite of setting the target rotation direction Dt to the normal rotation direction so that the actual rotation direction Dr becomes the normal rotation direction that sets the direction signal to a low level L. If the high level H does not change, it can be dealt with as a short circuit abnormality has occurred between the power supply terminal 84 and the direction signal terminal 86.

  On the other hand, when the ground terminal 85 is short-circuited with the direction signal terminal 86, the direction signal is forced to a low level L. Therefore, in the control circuit 90 that has received the direction signal, the direction signal is low even though the target rotation direction Dt is the reverse rotation direction so that the actual rotation direction Dr is the reverse rotation direction that sets the direction signal to the high level H. If it remains unchanged at L, it can be dealt with as a short-circuit abnormality has occurred between the ground terminal 85 and the direction signal terminal 86.

(Fourth and fifth embodiments)
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention are modifications of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, respectively.

  In the connector 482 of the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the ground terminal 85 is rearranged from the space between the monitor signal terminal 89 and the direction signal terminal 86 to the arrangement end opposite to the power supply terminal 84 with respect to the first embodiment. Accordingly, the monitor signal terminal 89 and the direction signal terminal 86 are adjacent to each other. Thereby, a plurality of signal terminals 89, 86, 87, 88 are interposed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, and a short circuit between the terminals 84, 85 is suppressed. Further, only the control signal terminal 88 is adjacent to the ground terminal 85 at the arrangement end, and the signal terminal 88 and other signal terminals 87, 86, 89 are interposed between the control signal terminal 88 and the power supply terminal 84. ing.

  In the connector 582 of the fifth embodiment shown in FIG. 16, the ground terminal 85 is arranged between the rotation speed signal terminal 87 and the direction signal terminal 86 on the opposite side of the power supply terminal 84 from the second embodiment. The rotation speed signal terminal 87 and the direction signal terminal 86 are adjacent to each other. As a result, a plurality of signal terminals 87, 86, 89, 88 are interposed between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, as in the fourth embodiment, and short-circuiting between the terminals 84, 85 is suppressed. Similarly to the fourth embodiment, only the control signal terminal 88 is adjacent to the ground terminal 85 at the arrangement end, and other signal terminals 89, 86, 87 are interposed between the control signal terminal 88 and the power supply terminal 84. ing.

  In such fourth and fifth embodiments, the control signal input from the control circuit 90 to the control signal terminal 88 adjacent to the ground terminal 85 causes the energization of each coil 66 to the energization processing unit 114 according to its duty ratio. This is a command signal. Therefore, when the ground terminal 85 is not short-circuited with the control signal terminal 88, the energization processing unit 114 sends a control signal for instructing energization to each coil 66 when the voltage level periodically becomes the high level H. Can receive.

  On the other hand, in the fourth and fifth embodiments, the control signal is forced to a low level L under an abnormality in which the ground terminal 85 is short-circuited with the control signal terminal 88. Therefore, the energization processing unit 114 that has received the control signal determines that the duty ratio is 0% and cuts off the energization to each coil 66, so a short circuit abnormality between the ground terminal 85 and the control signal terminal 88 is detected. Can be dealt with appropriately.

  In addition, since there is no terminal adjacent to the control signal terminal 88 on the ground terminal 85 at the arrangement end, it is only necessary to deal with a short circuit abnormality with the signal terminal 89. The control signal terminal 88 is controlled by a short circuit between the control signal terminal 88 and the power supply terminal 84 because a plurality of other signal terminals 89, 86, 87 are interposed between the control signal terminal 88 and the power supply terminal 84. It can be avoided that the signal is forced to the high level H and the energization of each coil 66 is erroneously continued.

(Other embodiments)
Although a plurality of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not construed as being limited to these embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. .

  Specifically, the connectors 82, 282, 382, 482, and 582 may be provided with signal terminals for inputting and outputting information signals other than the above-described direction signal, rotation speed signal, control signal, and monitor signal. Good. Further, in the connectors 82, 282, 382, 482, and 582, with respect to the power supply terminal 84 having a predetermined signal terminal interposed between the ground terminal 85, another signal terminal is interposed on the opposite side of the signal terminal. May be.

  Regarding the signal terminals of the connectors 82, 282, and 382, at least one other than the terminal between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85 may not be provided. The order of arrangement of the signal terminals of the connectors 82, 282, and 382, excluding the terminal between the power supply terminal 84 and the ground terminal 85, may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, in the connectors 482, 582, one or more of the signal terminals 86, 87, 88, 89 may not be provided, and the arrangement order of the signal terminals 86, 87, 88, 89 may be changed. You may change suitably.

  The monitor signal output from the monitor signal terminal 89 to the control circuit 90 may represent the normal / abnormal information I by a frequency that is the reciprocal of the period Tpm (see FIG. 12) instead of the duty ratio. Further, the control signal input from the control circuit 90 to the control signal terminal 88 may represent the target rotation direction Dt and the target rotation speed St by variables relating to the signal waveform other than the duty ratio and the frequency, respectively. Further, control information other than the target rotation direction Dt and the target rotation speed St may be represented. Furthermore, the direction signal output from the direction signal terminal 86 to the control circuit 90 is a high level H when the actual rotation direction Dr is the forward rotation direction and a low level L when the actual rotation direction Dr is the reverse rotation direction. It may be.

  The driver circuit 83 may realize a part of the function (for example, the energization processing unit 114) by a microcomputer. Further, as the filter unit 112 of the driver circuit 83, a noise filter other than the π type may be employed. Furthermore, the configuration of the bridge unit 113 of the driver circuit 83 may be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the electric motor 60, the contents of determination of normality / abnormality by the energization processing unit 114, and the like.

  As the electric motor 60, a motor other than the three-phase brushless motor described above may be employed. Further, as the phase adjustment unit 20 that is driven by using the rotation output of the electric motor 60, other than the above-described configuration may be adopted as long as the engine phase can be adjusted.

  And this invention adjusts the valve timing of both the motor driver other than the apparatus which adjusts the valve timing of the intake valve mentioned above, for example, the motor driver of the apparatus which adjusts the valve timing of an exhaust valve, and both an intake valve and an exhaust valve It can be applied to the motor driver of the device.

It is a figure which shows the motor driver by 1st embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is the II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric valve timing adjustment apparatus provided with the motor driver by 1st embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is a figure equivalent to the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the IV-IV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit structure of the electric unit of FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a detection signal output from the rotation angle sensor of FIG. 6 to the signal generation block and a rotation speed signal output from the rotation speed signal terminal of FIG. 6 to the control circuit. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the control signal output to a control signal terminal from the control circuit of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the control signal output to a control signal terminal from the control circuit of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the direction signal output to the control circuit from the direction signal terminal of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed electric circuit structure of the electricity supply block of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the monitor signal output to the control circuit from the monitor signal terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows the motor driver by 2nd embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows the motor driver by 3rd embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows the motor driver by 4th embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG. It is a figure which shows the motor driver by 5th embodiment of this invention, Comprising: It is sectional drawing corresponding to FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric valve timing adjustment apparatus, 10 Electricity unit, 20 Phase adjustment unit, 60 Electric motor, 61 Motor housing, 62 Motor shaft, 66 Coil, 80 Motor driver, 81 Driver housing, 82,282,382,482,582 Connector, 83 Driver circuit, 84 Power supply terminal, 85 Ground terminal, 86 Direction signal terminal (signal terminal), 87 Speed signal terminal (signal terminal), 88 Control signal terminal (signal terminal), 89 Monitor signal terminal (signal terminal), 90 Control circuit, 100 signal generation block, 110 energization block, 112 filter unit (noise filter), 113 bridge unit, 114 energization processing unit, 115 inductor, 116 first capacitor, 117 second capacitor, Dr actual rotation direction, Dt target rotation Direction, H high Bell, I Positive / abnormal information, L low level, Sr actual rotation speed, St target rotation speed, SU, SV, SW rotation angle sensor, Tpc control signal cycle, Tpm monitor signal cycle, Vb power supply voltage, Vg ground voltage

Claims (10)

In the valve timing adjusting device for adjusting the valve timing of the internal combustion engine using the rotational output of the electric motor, a motor driver that is provided with a connector electrically connected to the outside and drives the electric motor to be energized,
The connector is
A power supply terminal to which a power supply voltage is supplied from the outside;
A ground terminal that is grounded externally;
At least one signal terminal for inputting / outputting a signal to / from a control circuit for controlling the motor driver from the outside, interposed between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal;
A motor driver comprising:   The motor driver according to claim 1, wherein one signal terminal is interposed between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal.   The motor driver according to claim 2, wherein a noise filter is electrically connected between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal.   The said signal terminal adjacent to the said power supply terminal outputs the information signal which represents specific information to the said control circuit by the duty ratio or the frequency regarding the alternating of a voltage level to the said control circuit, It is any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The motor driver described in 1.   The said signal terminal adjacent to the said ground terminal outputs the information signal which represents specific information to the said control circuit by the duty ratio or frequency regarding the alternating of a voltage level, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The motor driver described in 1.   6. The motor driver according to claim 4, wherein the specific information is normal / abnormal information of the motor driver.   The control signal that commands energization of the electric motor when the voltage level becomes high is input to the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal from the control circuit. The motor driver according to any one of 6.   The at least one signal terminal different from the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal is interposed between the power terminal of the signal terminal adjacent to the ground terminal. The motor driver described.   9. The connector in which a plurality of terminals including the power supply terminal, the ground terminal, and the signal terminal are arranged, wherein the power supply terminal is disposed at the arrangement end. The motor driver described in the section.   In the said connector by which the several terminal containing the said power supply terminal, the said ground terminal, and the said signal terminal is arranged, the said ground terminal is arrange | positioned at the said arrangement | positioning end, The motor driver described in the section.

Images