# US 12,112,580 B2 · Life predicting device for vehicle component

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- Number: US 12,112,580 B2
- Document ID: US12112580B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/478,248
- Filed: 2021-09-17
- Published: 2022-04-28
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2020-10-23
- Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Shigeru Kimura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12112580B2

## CPC

- G05B 23/0283: {Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] (preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06)}
- G07C 5/006: {Indicating maintenance}
- G07C 5/0808: {Diagnosing performance data (testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005)}
- G07C 5/085: {using electronic data carriers}
- G05B 2219/2637: Vehicle, car, auto, wheelchair
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE

## Abstract

An interference margin between a stator and a rotor is measured after a rotary electric machine is manufactured, and the measured value is stored in a memory of a life predicting device as an allowable limit value. The life predicting device calculates a wear amount of a bearing portion of the rotary electric machine from an operation state amount of the rotary electric machine, and determines whether or not the rotary electric machine reaches an end of a life and maintenance is needed based on the calculated value and the allowable limit value stored in the memory.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A life predicting device for a vehicle component that predicts a life of a vehicle component that is a component of a vehicle, the life predicting device comprising:
an execution device; and
a storage device, wherein:
in a case where a value indicating a progress degree of aged deterioration of the vehicle component is defined as a deterioration degree, a value of the deterioration degree when the vehicle component reaches an end of the life is defined as an allowable limit value of the deterioration degree, and a value indicating a characteristic of each individual vehicle component is defined as an individual characteristic value,
a value of the allowable limit value obtained from a measurement result of the individual characteristic value of the individual vehicle component that is a target of life prediction by the life predicting device is stored in the storage device in advance,
the individual characteristic value includes a characteristic value for allowable limit value calculation used for calculating the allowable limit value and a characteristic value for deterioration degree calculation used for calculating the deterioration degree,
a value of the characteristic value for deterioration degree calculation measured before the vehicle component is assembled into the vehicle is stored in the storage device in advance,
the execution device executes
acquisition processing of acquiring an operation state amount of the vehicle component in the vehicle,
calculation processing of calculating the value of the deterioration degree based on a value of the operation state amount and the characteristic value for deterioration degree calculation, and
output processing of generating information regarding the life of the vehicle component based on the deterioration degree and the allowable limit value and outputting the generated information, wherein:
when a wear amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount, the execution device outputs a signal that activates a warning light in the vehicle, and
when the wear amount is less than the predetermined amount, the execution device outputs a signal that deactivates the warning light in the vehicle,
the vehicle component is a magnet-embedded rotary electric machine;
the wear amount of a bearing portion of a rotor of the rotary electric machine is used as the deterioration degree;
an interference margin between a stator of the rotary electric machine and the rotor is used as the characteristic value for allowable limit value calculation; and
an imbalance amount of the rotor and a variation amount of a magnetic flux density between magnetic poles provided in the rotor are used as the characteristic value for deterioration degree calculation.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The life predicting device according to claim 1, wherein:
in the output processing, a result of necessity determination of maintenance of the vehicle component is output as the information regarding the life; and
the necessity determination is performed by setting a difference obtained by subtracting a margin from the allowable limit value as a determination threshold value, determining that maintenance is needed in a case where the value of the deterioration degree is the determination threshold value or more, and determining that maintenance is not needed in a case where the value of the deterioration degree is less than the determination threshold value.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The life predicting device according to claim 2, wherein the margin is a variable value set based on an increase rate of the deterioration degree as a value that increases when the increase rate is large as compared to when the increase rate is small.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The life predicting device according to claim 1, wherein values of an inner diameter of the stator, an outer diameter of the rotor core, and a coaxiality of the stator and the rotor core are used as the characteristic value for allowable limit value calculation.