# US 8,786,227 B2 · Electric compressor controller

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- Number: US 8,786,227 B2
- Document ID: US8786227B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/156,818
- Filed: 2011-06-09
- Published: 2012-01-05
- Granted: 2014-07-22
- Earliest claimed: 2010-07-02
- Assignees: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
- Applicants: Takashi Kubo
- Inventors: Takashi Kubo
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8786227B2

## CPC

- B60H 1/3213: {for increasing the efficiency in a vehicle heat pump}
- B60H 1/143: {the heat being derived from cooling an electric component, e.g. electric motors, electric circuits, fuel cells or batteries}
- F04B 35/04: the means being electric
- F04B 49/06: Control using electricity (regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04)
- F25B 49/025: {Motor control arrangements}
- B60H 2001/3255: {related to temperature}
- B60H 2001/327: {related to a compressing unit}
- B60H 2001/3288: {Additional heat source}
- F04B 2203/0205: Temperature
- F04B 2205/11: Outlet temperature
- F25B 2600/021: Inverters therefor
- B60H: ARRANGEMENTS OF HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATING OR OTHER AIR-TREATING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PASSENGER OR GOODS SPACES OF VEHICLES
- F04B: POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES FOR LIQUIDS; PUMPS (machines for liquids, or pumps, of rotary-piston or oscillating-piston type F04C; non-positive-displacement pumps F04D; pumping of fluid by direct contact of another fluid or by using inertia of fluid to be pumped F04F)
- F25B: REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS

## Abstract

An electric compressor controller includes a compressor that compresses refrigerant of an air conditioning system; a motor that drives the compressor; an inverter that selectively control switching elements based on PWM pulse signals to supply drive power to the motor and heats the refrigerant by heat generated due to switching of the switching elements during a heating operation; temperature detectors each detects junction temperature of each of the switching elements; a drive controller that supplies the pulse signals to the inverter to control the inverter; and a slope varying unit that variably controls precipitous degree of rising/falling slope waveforms of the pulse signals based on the junction temperature detected by the temperature detectors. According to the electric compressor controller, efficiency for heating refrigerant is improved, so that its own heating ability is improved.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An electric compressor controller comprising:
a compressor that compresses refrigerant of an air conditioning system for a vehicle;
a motor that drives the compressor; an inverter that selectively controls a plurality of switching elements based on PWM pulse signals to supply drive power to the motor and heats the refrigerant by heat generated due to switching of the plurality of switching elements during a heating operation of the air conditioning system;
a plurality of temperature detectors that each detects junction temperature of each of the plurality of switching elements;
a drive controller that supplies the pulse signals to the inverter to control the inverter; and
a slope varying unit that variably controls a precipitous degree of rising/falling slope waveforms of the pulse signals based on the junction temperature of each of the plurality of switching elements that is detected by the plurality of temperature detectors.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The electric compressor controller according to claim 1, wherein, an amount of the heat generated due to switching of the plurality of switching elements is increased by increasing switching losses of the plurality of switching elements within a scope wherein the junction temperature of the plurality of switching elements does not exceed an operation limit temperature thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The electric compressor controller according to claim 2, wherein, the slope varying unit increases the switching losses by making a precipitous degree of the pulse signals gradual.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The electric compressor controller according to claim 1, wherein, a dead time for preventing flow-through current from flowing through the plurality of switching elements is variably set to the pulse signals according to the precipitous degree.