Patent ID: 7982421

Claim:
An electric vehicle controller comprising: a VVVF inverter that converts a direct current into an alternating current having an arbitrary frequency based on a powering command or a brake command; an AC motor connected to the AC-side of the VVVF inverter; a filter reactor connected in series to the DC-side of the VVVF inverter; a filter capacitor connected in parallel to the DC-side of the VVVF inverter; a current detector detecting information about the current on the AC-side of the VVVF inverter; a voltage detector detecting information about the DC voltage across the filter capacitor; a speed sensorless vector controller estimating the rotating speed of the AC motor from an output voltage command from the VVVF inverter and an output current from the VVVF inverter and controlling the VVVF inverter based on the estimate; a DC current detector, being either an overhead wire current detector detecting the current flowing through an overhead wire or an inverter current detector detecting the inverter current flowing through the VVVF inverter; a wrong action sensor determining the sign of the DC current, when the VVVF inverter is in operation by using either a powering command or a brake command, either an overhead wire current or an inverter current detected by the DC current detector, and a predetermined current setting, and sensing an abnormality in the speed sensorless vector controller from the sign of the DC current; and a gate stopper stopping the VVVF inverter when the wrong action sensor senses an abnormality, wherein the wrong action sensor includes: a wrong regeneration sensor comparing the value of either of the DC currents, the overhead wire current or the inverter current detected by either the DC current detector, the overhead wire current detector or the inverter current detector, with a first current setting set to judge wrong regeneration when the VVVF inverter is operated in the powering mode, and allowing a fixed period determined by the resonant frequency between the filter reactor and the filter capacitor to elapse when the first current setting is greater, a wrong powering sensor comparing the value of either of the DC currents, the overhead wire current or the inverter current detected by either of the DC current detector, the overhead wire current detector or the inverter current detector, with a second current setting set to judge wrong powering when the VVVF inverter is operated in the regeneration mode, and allowing a fixed period determined by the resonant frequency between the filter reactor and the filter capacitor to elapse when the second current setting is smaller, and a powering/regeneration sensing selector selecting the wrong regeneration sensor in the powering operation, whereas selecting the wrong powering sensor in the regeneration operation based on either of the commands, the powering command or the brake command.