Method and system for testing continuity of a motor and associated drive circuitry

Abstract

A method and system for checking continuity of a motor 104, motor drive, motor relay 110, dc relay 108 and interconnections 122a-c thereof for a power steering system 204. The method and system of the invention produce minimal torque on a motor shaft 426 of the power steering system 204. The position of the motor shaft 426 is located using a Hall effect current sensor 114, a resolver and the like, depending on the type of motor. Thereafter, it is determined which switches 106a-f of an inverter circuitry 100 to switch to produce a minimal torque on the motor shaft 426. The inverter circuit 100 converts dc voltage from a power source 102 to ac voltage required by the motor 104. Thereafter, the switches 106a-f that produce the minimal torque on the motor shaft 426 are switched and current flow is checked to determine the continuity of the circuitry. To produce minimal torque on the motor shaft 426, the complementary pair of switches 106a-f to the first pair is then switched.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.