Abstract
The technical demands of the automotive industry on the electrical machinery together with the increasing number of electrical actuators and electrical propulsions in a car lead to the necessity to build an extensive and sophisticated diagnosis infrastructure in modern cars. The inexpensive way to do so, is to use electrical motors and actuators as virtual sensors. It is shown in this paper how an electrical motor may be used as a sensor. The necessary basis
- the creation of appropriate component and system models - is shown in the present paper together with the analysis of current and voltage signals. The advantages of the shown procedures and tools for the treatment of money- and time consuming work in maintenance services are shown together with the opportunities of on-board and off-board diagnostics. It is described how the system Motor-Virtual Sensor may be implemented in a software package that is used in different levels and environments: development and design (off-board diagnostics), maintenance service (off-board) and vehicle (on-board diagnostics).
The improvement in the product quality not only the drive but also the whole car through advanced and more detailed error sensing and fault locating when using the presented tools and methods is outlined.