Introduction:
H-Bridge driven DC motors are widely used in many automotive applications such as HVAC, power seats, wipers, and power windows. It is important to protect the motor drive system, because failure to do so may result in damaged components and, in some cases, hazardous conditions. In this application note, we discuss a novel approach to fault detection and protection where, instead of using pre-packaged motor drivers with built-in protection systems, we use basic components such as FETs and gate drivers. This method results in a larger number of available test signals and hence better determination of fault conditions. Combined with the configurability of PSoC 3 devices, this method also leads to a scalable and programmable system that can be easily shared across multiple H-Bridges.
The following table indicates the PSoC devices, PSoC Creator versions, compilers, and development kits that will work with this application note project:
| Device | PSoC Creator Version | Supported Development Kit CY8CKIT- | Supported Compiler | ||||||||
| Architecture |
Silicon Rev |
V 1.0 |
V2.0 or higher |
001 DVK |
030 DVK |
050 DVK |
003 / 014 FTK |
Keil | GCC | RVDS | MDK |
| PSoC 3 | ES2 | No | No | No | N/A | N/A | No | No | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PSoC 3 | ES3 / Rev A | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | No | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A |
The projects associated with this application note, one for CY8CKIT-001 and another for CY8CKIT-030, can be downloaded from the ‘Related Files’ section below.