Motor driving apparatus and method of controlling same

A motor driving apparatus for driving a motor having a plurality of windings corresponding to a plurality of phases, the apparatus comprising:

• a first inverter including a plurality of first switching elements and connected to first ends of the plurality of windings;
• a second inverter including a plurality of second switching elements connected to second ends of the plurality of windings;
• a plurality of third switching elements having first ends connected to a second end of each of the plurality of windings and second ends connected to each other;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the first inverter, the second inverter and the plurality of third switching elements and configured and configured to drive the motor by controlling states of each of the plurality of first, second, and third switching elements,
• wherein the first, second and third switching elements are each controlled by the controller with reference to a map that corresponds to a motor temperature and is selected from a plurality of maps prepared in advance, as well as based on the motor's Back EMF value and a torque command.

A method for controlling a motor driving apparatus configured to drive a motor through a first inverter, which includes a plurality of first switching elements and to which a first end of each of a plurality of windings corresponding to a plurality of phases of a motor is independently connected, a second inverter, which includes a plurality of second switching elements and to which a second end of each of the plurality of windings is independently connected, and a plurality of third switching elements, each having one end connected to the corresponding second end of one, different from one another, of the plurality of windings, and an opposite end interconnected with an opposite end of each of remaining third switching elements, the method comprising:

• determining a map corresponding to a motor temperature from a plurality of maps, each corresponding to a predetermined temperature range and having predefined driving modes, wherein each of the driving modes is defined in association with the motor's Back EMF value and a corresponding torque command;
• and
• driving the motor in either a first driving mode or a second driving mode of the predefined driving modes, wherein the motor is driven with reference to the determined map as well as based on the motor's Back EMF value and the torque command,
• wherein, in the first driving mode, the plurality of third switching elements is turned on, and the first switching elements are controlled, by a controller, to drive the motor, and
• wherein, in the second driving mode, the plurality of third switching elements is turned off, and both the first switching elements and the second switching elements are controlled, by the controller, to drive the motor.