Patent Publication Number: US-11022151-B2

Title: Hydraulic device and control method of hydraulic device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Japan Application No. 2019-031629, filed on Feb. 25, 2019. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Field 
     The disclosure relates to a hydraulic device and a control method of hydraulic device. 
     Related Art 
     In a working machine such as a truck or the like, a hydraulic device for driving a support arm by hydraulic pressure is arranged. For example, in paten literature 1, a hydraulic device which includes a hydraulic cylinder, a pump and an electric motor is described. In this hydraulic device, in response to a user of the working machine operating a remote controller, the electric motor drives the pump. Thereby, the pump supplies working liquid to the hydraulic cylinder which actuates a support arm of a load receiving platform. 
     In the hydraulic device, generally a DC (direct current) brush motor is used as the electric motor. However, a period of endurance of the brush motor is limited by life of a brush, and thus durability of the hydraulic device using the brush motor is not high. Therefore, in recent years, improvement of the durability of the hydraulic device is required. 
     LITERATURE OF RELATED ART 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         [Patent literature 1] Japanese Laid-open No. 2007-223419 
       
    
     It is considered that durability of a hydraulic device can be improved by using a brushless motor instead of the brush motor as an electric motor. However, if the brushless motor is used to configure the hydraulic device, problems such as failure of start due to insufficient torque, pressurization in a pipe or the like may occur. Therefore, the hydraulic device cannot be operated with high reliability in some cases. Here, the pressurization means a state in which pressure inside the pipe increases when the brushless motor is stopped. 
     SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of an aspect according to the disclosure relates to a hydraulic device including: a fluid storage portion which stores working fluid; a power output portion which outputs power from the working fluid; a fluid supply portion which supplies the working fluid stored in the fluid storage portion to the power output portion; a brushless motor which drives the fluid supply portion; a bypass flow path portion which can be switched between a first state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion to the fluid storage portion and a second state of blocking the fluid supply portion from the fluid storage portion; a backflow prevention valve which prevents backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion to the bypass flow path portion; and a control portion which performs at least one of a control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and a control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped. 
     An embodiment of another aspect according to the disclosure relates to a control method of hydraulic device including: a step in which working fluid stored in a fluid storage portion is supplied by a fluid supply portion to a power output portion which outputs power from the working fluid; a step in which the fluid supply portion is driven by a brushless motor; a step in which backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion to a bypass flow path portion is prevented by a backflow prevention valve; and a step in which the bypass flow path portion is switched between a first state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion to the fluid storage portion and a second state of blocking the fluid supply portion from the fluid storage portion. The step in which the bypass flow path portion is switched includes at least one of switching the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and switching the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a configuration of a hydraulic device according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control portion in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a time chart for illustrating one example of operation of the control portion. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing an algorithm of a hydraulic device control process performed by a hydraulic device control program. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The embodiments of the disclosure provide a hydraulic device which can be operated with high reliability while durability is improved. 
     According to the embodiments of the disclosure, the hydraulic device can be operated with high reliability while the durability of the hydraulic device is improved. 
     (1) Configuration of Hydraulic Device 
     A hydraulic device and a control method of hydraulic device according to one embodiment of the disclosure are described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, the hydraulic device is arranged in a working machine such as a truck or the like, but the embodiment is not limited hereto, and the hydraulic device may be arranged in other machines.  FIG. 1  is a diagram showing a configuration of the hydraulic device according to one embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a hydraulic device  100  includes a fluid storage portion  10 , a fluid supply portion  20 , a brushless motor  30 , a bypass flow path portion  40 , a backflow prevention valve  50 , a power output portion  60  and a control portion  70 . 
     The fluid storage portion  10  is a tank for example, and stores working fluid (hereinafter, simply referred to as the fluid) such as oil or the like. The fluid supply portion  20  is a pump for example, and pumps the fluid stored in the fluid storage portion  10  toward the power output portion  60 . The brushless motor  30  drives the fluid supply portion  20 . In the embodiment, the brushless motor  30  is a sensorless-type brushless motor and has no position sensor such as a Hall sensor or the like. The embodiment is not limited hereto, and the brushless motor  30  may be a brushless motor with a sensor. 
     The bypass flow path portion  40  includes a bypass pipe  41  and a bypass valve  42 . The bypass pipe  41  is connected between the fluid storage portion  10  and the fluid supply portion  20  so as to return the fluid pumped by the fluid supply portion  20  to the fluid storage portion  10 . The bypass valve  42  is inserted into the bypass pipe  41  and can be switched between an opening state of opening the bypass pipe  41  and a blocking state of blocking the bypass pipe  41 . The backflow prevention valve  50  is inserted between the fluid supply portion  20  and the bypass flow path portion  40  and the power output portion  60 , and prevents the fluid from the power output portion  60  from flowing back into the bypass flow path portion  40 . 
     The power output portion  60  outputs power from the fluid to, for example, a support arm of a load receiving platform. Specifically, the power output portion  60  includes fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  and direction control valves  63  and  64 . In this example, the fluid pressure actuator  61  is a double-acting tilt cylinder which operates due to the fluid pressure and is used to tilt the support arm of the load receiving platform. The direction control valve  63  is arranged between the fluid pressure actuator  61  and the fluid storage portion  10  and the backflow prevention valve  50 , and controls the operation of the fluid pressure actuator  61 . 
     In this example, the fluid pressure actuator  62  is a single-acting lift cylinder which operates due to the fluid pressure and is used to raise and lower the support arm of the load receiving platform. The direction control valve  64  is arranged between the fluid pressure actuator  62  and the fluid storage portion  10  and the backflow prevention valve  50 , and controls the operation of the fluid pressure actuator  62 . A user can command the operation of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  by operating an operation portion  101  such as a remote controller or the like. 
     The control portion  70  is an ECU (electronic control unit), and includes a CPU (central processing unit)  71  and a memory  72 . The CPU  71  controls the operations of the brushless motor  30 , the bypass valve  42  and the direction control valves  63  and  64  based on a command from the operation portion  101 . A hydraulic device control program for controlling the operation of the CPU  71  is stored in the memory  72 . A specific configuration of the control portion  70  is described below. 
     (2) Control Portion 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control portion  70  in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , the control portion  70  includes, as function portions, a start reception portion  1 , a stop reception portion  2 , a forward rotation control portion  3 , a reverse rotation control portion  4 , a blocking control portion  5 , an opening control portion  6 , and an output control portion  7 . The CPU  71  in  FIG. 1  executes the hydraulic device control program stored in the memory  72 , and thereby the function portions of the control portion  70  are implemented. A part of or all of the function portions of the control portion  70  may be implemented by hardware such as an electronic circuit or the like. 
     The start reception portion  1  receives, from the operation portion  101 , a command (hereinafter, referred to as the start command) for starting any one of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  in  FIG. 1 . The stop reception portion  2  receives, from the operation portion  101 , a command (hereinafter, referred to as the stop command) for stopping the start of the above fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62 . 
     In response to the start reception portion  1  receiving the start command, the forward rotation control portion  3  gives a forward rotation signal for rotating in a forward direction to the brushless motor  30 . In response to the stop reception portion  2  receiving the stop command, the reverse rotation control portion  4  gives a reverse rotation signal corresponding to a reverse direction to the brushless motor  30 . The forward rotation control portion  3  is an example of a first rotation control portion, and the reverse rotation control portion  4  is an example of a second rotation control portion. 
     The blocking control portion  5  controls the bypass valve  42  to come into the blocking state in response to the start reception portion  1  receiving the start command. The opening control portion  6  controls the bypass valve  42  to come into the opening state in response to the stop reception portion  2  receiving the stop command. The output control portion  7  specifies the operation of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  based on the command given from the operation portion  101 , and controls the direction control valves  63  and  64  to execute the specified operation. 
       FIG. 3  is a time chart for illustrating one example of the operation of the control portion  70 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , at an initial time point t 0 , the start of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  is stopped, the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped, and the bypass valve  42  is in the opening state. 
     At a time point t 1 , the user operates the operation portion  101  to instruct desired start of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62 , and thereby the start command is given to the start reception portion  1 . In this case, the forward rotation control portion  3  gives the forward rotation signal to the brushless motor  30  so that the brushless motor  30  rotates at a predetermined low rotation speed (for example, a constant speed of 500 rpm or less). After the speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the low rotation speed, the low rotation speed is maintained until a time point t 2 . 
     At the time point t 2 , the blocking control portion  5  controls the bypass valve  42  to come into the blocking state. The duration from the time point t 1  to the time point t 2  is, for example, 0.1 second or more and 0.3 second or less. In addition, at the time point t 2 , the forward rotation control portion  3  further gives the forward rotation signal to the brushless motor  30 . After the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches a maximum speed, the maximum speed is maintained until an instruction to stop the start of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  is given. 
     At a time point t 3 , the user operates the operation portion  101  to instruct desired stop of the start of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62 , and thereby the stop command is given to the stop reception portion  2 . In this case, the opening control portion  6  controls the bypass valve  42  to come into the opening state. In addition, the reverse rotation control portion  4  gives the reverse rotation signal to the brushless motor  30  at the time point t 3 . Accordingly, the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  in the forward direction decreases, and the rotation speed becomes zero at a time point t 4 . At the time point t 4 , the reverse rotation control portion  4  stops the control of the brushless motor  30 . 
     (3) Hydraulic Device Control Process 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing an algorithm of a hydraulic device control process performed by the hydraulic device control program. The hydraulic device control process is described below using the control portion  70  in  FIG. 2  and the flowchart of  FIG. 4 . Furthermore, at an initial state, the start of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62  is stopped, the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped, and the bypass valve  42  is in the opening state. 
     First, the start reception portion  1  determines whether the start command is received from the operation portion  101  (step S 1 ). If the start command is not received, the start reception portion  1  waits until the start command is received. If the start command is received, the output control portion  7  controls the direction control valves  63  and  64  to be capable of executing the operation corresponding to the received start command (step S 2 ). In addition, the forward rotation control portion  3  gives the forward rotation signal to the brushless motor  30  (step S 3 ). 
     Next, the blocking control portion  5  determines whether the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the predetermined low rotation speed (step S 4 ). If the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  does not reach the low rotation speed, the blocking control portion  5  returns to step S 3 . Steps S 3  and S 4  are repeated until the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the low rotation speed. Furthermore, if the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the low rotation speed, the forward rotation control portion  3  maintains the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  at the low rotation speed in step S 3 . 
     In this example, the blocking control portion  5  determines that the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the low rotation speed after a predetermined time (for example, 0.1 second or more and 0.3 second or less) has elapsed since the start command is received in step S 1 . Therefore, in step S 4 , the blocking control portion  5  determines whether the predetermined time has elapsed since the start command is received in step S 1 , and if the time has not elapse, the start reception portion  1  waits until the time has elapses. 
     When the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the predetermined low rotation speed in step S 4  (when the predetermined time has elapsed), the blocking control portion  5  switches the bypass valve  42  to the blocking state (step S 5 ). In addition, the forward rotation control portion  3  increases the forward rotation signals of the brushless motor  30  (step S 6 ). Thereby, the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  increases. 
     Thereafter, the stop reception portion  2  determines whether the stop command is received from the operation portion  101  (step S 7 ). If the stop command is not received, the stop reception portion  2  returns to step S 6 . Steps S 6  and S 7  are repeated until the stop command is received. Furthermore, when the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  reaches the maximum speed, the forward rotation control portion  3  maintains the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  at the maximum speed in step S 6 . 
     If the stop command is received in step S 7 , the opening control portion  6  switches the bypass valve  42  to the opening state (step S 8 ). In addition, the reverse rotation control portion  4  gives the reverse rotation signal to the brushless motor  30  (step S 9 ). Thereby, the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  decreases. Next, the reverse rotation control portion  4  determines whether the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  becomes 0, that is, whether the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped (step S 10 ). 
     If the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is not stopped, the reverse rotation control portion  4  returns to step S 9 . Steps S 9  and S 10  are repeated until the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped. If the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped, the reverse rotation control portion  4  ends the hydraulic device control process. 
     (4) Effects 
     In the hydraulic device  100  according to the embodiment, the working fluid stored in the fluid storage portion  10  is supplied to the power output portion  60  by the fluid supply portion  20 . The fluid supply portion  20  is driven by the brushless motor  30 . According to this configuration, since the brushless motor  30  is used as the electric motor, a period of endurance of the electric motor is not limited by life of the brush. Therefore, durability of the hydraulic device  100  is improved. 
     In addition, the bypass flow path portion  40  is arranged which can be switched between the opening state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion  20  to the fluid storage portion  10  and the blocking state of blocking the fluid supply portion  20  from the fluid storage portion  10 . When the start command of the power output portion  60  is received by the start reception portion  1 , the forward rotation signal is given from the forward rotation control portion  3  to the brushless motor  30 , and thereby the brushless motor  30  is rotated in the forward direction. 
     In the initial state, since the bypass flow path portion  40  is in the opening state, the fluid from the fluid supply portion  20  is returned to the fluid storage portion  10  through the bypass flow path portion  40  until the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  increases to the predetermined low rotation speed. Backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion  60  to the bypass flow path portion  40  is prevented by the backflow prevention valve  50 . Here, since the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  is low, a flow rate of the fluid passing through the bypass flow path portion  40  is small, and thus generation of fluid noise can be prevented. 
     After the rotation speed of the brushless motor  30  increases to the low rotation speed, the bypass flow path portion  40  is switched by the bypass control portion  5  from the opening state to the blocking state. In this case, when the power output portion  60  is started, since the working fluid is supplied to the power output portion  60  after the brushless motor  30  is rotated at a sufficient rotation speed, failure of the start of the brushless motor  30  due to insufficient torque can be avoided. Therefore, it may not be necessary to use a motor having a great inverter capacity corresponding to a high starting torque as the brushless motor  30 , and a motor having a small inverter capacity can be used. 
     In addition, since the failure of the start of the brushless motor  30  due to insufficient torque is avoided, the sensorless-type brushless motor  30  having no position sensor can be used as the brushless motor  30 . In this case, the brushless motor  30  and the fluid supply portion  20  can be connected with fewer wires. 
     When the stop command of the power output portion  60  is received by the stop reception portion  2 , the bypass flow path portion  40  is switched by the opening control portion  6  from the blocking state to the opening state. Therefore, occurrence of pressurization in a pipe  102  connecting the fluid supply portion  20  and the power output portion  60  is prevented. Thereby, burden of the pipe  102  is reduced. 
     In addition, when the stop command of the power output portion  60  is received by the stop reception portion  2 , the reverse rotation signal is given to the brushless motor  30  by the reverse rotation control portion  4  to stop the rotation of the brushless motor  30 . In this case, after the power output portion  60  is stopped, the rotation of the brushless motor  30  is stopped in a shorter time. Thereby, the occurrence of the pressurization in the pipe  102  can be more reliably prevented. As a result of these configurations, the hydraulic device  100  can be operated with high reliability while the durability of the hydraulic device  100  is improved. 
     (5) Other Embodiments 
     (a) In the above embodiment, a first control to switch the bypass flow path portion  40  from the opening state to the blocking state after the brushless motor  30  is started and a second control to switch the bypass flow path portion  40  from the blocking state to the opening state when the brushless motor  30  is stopped are both performed, but the embodiment is not limited hereto. It may be that only one of the first control and the second control is performed and the other is not performed. 
     (b) In the above embodiment, the reverse rotation signal is given to the brushless motor  30  when the power output portion  60  is stopped, but the embodiment is not limited hereto. When the power output portion  60  is stopped, the brushless motor  30  may be naturally stopped without giving the reverse rotation signal to the brushless motor  30 . 
     (c) In the above embodiment, the power output portion  60  includes a plurality of the fluid pressure actuators  61  and  62 , but the embodiment is not limited hereto. The power output portion  60  may include one fluid pressure actuator. 
     (6) Aspects 
     (Item 1) A hydraulic device according to one aspect may include: 
     a fluid storage portion which stores working fluid; 
     a power output portion which outputs power from the working fluid; 
     a fluid supply portion which supplies the working fluid stored in the fluid storage portion to the power output portion; 
     a brushless motor which drives the fluid supply portion; 
     a bypass flow path portion which can switched be between a first state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion to the fluid storage portion and a second state of blocking the fluid supply portion from the fluid storage portion; 
     a control portion which performs at least one of a control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and a control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped; and
 
a backflow prevention valve which prevents backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion to the bypass flow path portion.
 
     In the hydraulic device, the working fluid stored in the fluid storage portion is supplied by the fluid supply portion to the power output portion which outputs the power from the working fluid. The fluid supply portion is driven by the brushless motor. The bypass flow path portion is arranged which can be switched between the first state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion to the fluid storage portion and the second state of blocking the fluid supply portion from the fluid storage portion. At least one of the control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and the control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor  30  is stopped is performed. The backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion to the bypass flow path portion is prevented by the backflow prevention valve. 
     According to this configuration, a brushless motor is used as the electric motor. Therefore, the period of endurance of the electric motor is not limited by the life of the brush. Therefore, the durability of the hydraulic device is improved. 
     In addition, when the bypass flow path is switched from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started, high torque is not applied to the electric motor immediately after the brushless motor is started. Thereby, the brushless motor can start the rotation smoothly. In addition, after the brushless motor starts the rotation, the working fluid stored in the fluid storage portion is supplied to the power output portion by the fluid supply portion. Therefore, failure of start of the brushless motor due to insufficient torque can be avoided. 
     On the other hand, when the bypass flow path portion is switched from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped, the working fluid supplied by the fluid supply portion is returned to the fluid storage portion through the bypass flow path portion. In this case, since pressurization does not occur in the pipe connecting the fluid supply portion and the power output portion, burden on the pipe is reduced. 
     Therefore, reliability of the hydraulic device is improved by performing at least one of the above controls of the bypass flow path portion. As a result, the hydraulic device can be operated with high reliability while the durability of the hydraulic device is improved. 
     (Item 2) In the hydraulic device according to item 1, 
     the control portion may include: 
     a start reception portion which receives a start command of the power output portion; 
     a first rotation control portion which gives the brushless motor a first rotation signal for rotating the brushless motor in a predetermined direction in response to reception of the start command by the start reception portion; and 
     a blocking control portion which switches the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after a rotation speed of the brushless motor has increased to a predetermined value. 
     In this case, when the power output portion is started, the working fluid is supplied to the power output portion after the brushless motor is rotated at a sufficient rotation speed. Therefore, the failure of the start of the brushless motor due to insufficient torque can be avoided more reliably. 
     (Item 3) In the hydraulic device according to item 2, 
     the brushless motor may be a sensorless-type brushless motor having no position sensor. 
     In this case, since the failure of the start of the brushless motor due to insufficient torque is avoided, the sensorless-type brushless motor having no position sensor can be used as the brushless motor. Thereby, the brushless motor and the fluid supply portion can be connected with fewer wires. As a result, the durability and reliability of the hydraulic device can be further improved. 
     (Item 4) In the hydraulic device according to any one of items 1 to 3, 
     the control portion may include: 
     a stop reception portion which receives a stop command of the power output portion; and 
     an opening control portion which switches the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state in response to reception of the stop command by the stop reception portion. 
     In this case, when the power output portion is stopped, the bypass flow path portion is switched from the second state to the first state. Thereby, the occurrence of the pressurization in the pipe which connects the fluid supply portion and the power output portion can be prevented more reliably. 
     (Item 5) In the hydraulic device according to item 4, 
     the control portion may further include a second rotation control portion which gives the brushless motor a second rotation signal corresponding to a rotation direction opposite to the rotation direction so as to stop the rotation of the brushless motor, in response to reception of the stop command by the stop reception portion. 
     In this case, after the power output portion is stopped, the rotation of the brushless motor is stopped in a shorter time. Thereby, the occurrence of the pressurization in the pipe which connects the fluid supply portion and the power output portion can be prevented more reliably. 
     (Item 6) A control method of hydraulic device according to another aspect may include: 
     a step in which working fluid stored in a fluid storage portion is supplied by a fluid supply portion to a power output portion which outputs power from the working fluid; 
     a step in which the fluid supply portion is driven by a brushless motor; 
     a step in which a bypass flow path portion is switched between a first state of supplying the working fluid from the fluid supply portion to the fluid storage portion and a second state of blocking the fluid supply portion from the fluid storage portion; and
 
a step in which backflow of the working fluid from the power output portion to the bypass flow path portion is prevented by a backflow prevention valve; wherein
 
the step in which the bypass flow path portion is switched includes at least one of switching the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and switching the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped.
 
     According to the control method of hydraulic device, a brushless motor is used as the electric motor. Therefore, a period of endurance of the electric motor is not limited by the life of the brush. Therefore, the durability of the hydraulic device is improved. In addition, at least one of the control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the first state to the second state after the brushless motor is started and the control to switch the bypass flow path portion from the second state to the first state when the brushless motor is stopped is performed. Thereby, the reliability of the hydraulic device is improved. As a result, the hydraulic device can be operated with high reliability while the durability of the hydraulic device is improved.