Patents Examined by Eduardo Colon Santana
  • Patent number: 11817811
    Abstract: A motor control system includes a motor; a motor and a motor control circuit coupled to the motor to provide power to the motor. The motor control circuit includes a power feedback loop having a power reference circuit to provide a reference power level and a power control circuit configured to provide a constant power level to the motor so that the motor operates with a substantially constant power output. The constant power level is proportional to the reference power level. Thus, the motor also provides substantially constant torque when the motor is at a constant speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignee: Allegro MicroSystems, LLC
    Inventor: Yisong Lu
  • Patent number: 11801763
    Abstract: A vehicle has a drive system that includes a battery, two inverters, an electric machine, and switches. The vehicle also has a controller that, responsive to charge mode, operates the switches to couple one of the inverters to a charge port and operates at least one of the inverters such that DC current from the charge port sequentially flows through the one of the inverters, the electric machine, and the other of the inverters to the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Ali Najmabadi
  • Patent number: 11747785
    Abstract: Control commands for a control device of a machine define a sequence of successive sections of ideal position target values for a position-controlled shaft of the machine. The ideal position target values either increase or decrease monotonically within the sections, but the direction of the monotony changes from section to section. A position controller determines actuating signals for an actuator from position target values resulting from ideal position target values, additional target values and position actual values. Within sections, the additional target values are positive (negative) when the ideal position target values increase (decrease) monotonically. The additional target values have a first component dependent exclusively on a position difference, with the magnitude of the first component increasing as the magnitude of the position difference increases, first strictly monotonically and then at least monotonically.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Andreas Klotzek
  • Patent number: 11639114
    Abstract: A method of operating an electric vehicle having multiple electric traction motors include receiving a signal indicative of a driver requested torque, and determining portions of the torque request to produce from each traction motor based on efficiency maps of the motors. The method may also include producing the determined portions of torque from each motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2023
    Assignee: Proterra Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Jarred Vallbracht, Matthew Simonini
  • Patent number: 11563389
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method (19) for starting an electric single-phase induction motor (1), wherein during a start-up interval of the start-up cycle for starting said electric motor (1), the frequency (fref) of the electric current for driving said electric motor (1) is set to a first frequency (fstart), and later to the operating frequency (frun) of the electric motor (1), wherein the first frequency (fstart) is higher than the operating frequency (frun).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignees: Danfoss Customised Power Electronics, Sta-Rite Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Torben Damsgaard, Robert Ehmsen, Florin Lungeanu, Rasmus Fink, Lars Berthelsen, Melissa Drechsel Kidd, William James Genaw, Micheal Robert Pasche, Gary Thomas Baase, II
  • Patent number: 11552589
    Abstract: A method for dissipating power of an automotive electric drive system that includes a traction battery, and an inverter, wherein the inverter includes a DC bus between, and a dissipation circuit between the traction battery and DC bus, wherein the dissipation circuit includes a plurality of resistors connected in series between positive and negative terminals of the DC bus and a dissipation resistor and switch connected in series between the positive and negative terminals, the method includes responsive to a voltage across one of the plurality of resistors being less than a threshold value, deactivating the switch to prevent current flow from the positive terminal to the negative terminal through the dissipation resistor, and responsive to the voltage exceeding the threshold value, activating the switch to permit current flow from the positive terminal to the negative terminal through the dissipation resistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Miao Wang
  • Patent number: 11489421
    Abstract: A secondary part provides a magnetic path for a primary part of a linear motor and includes a spacer element as well as yoke plates forming two limbs, which are arranged for an attachment to the spacer element so that—situated opposite each other—they extend in planes parallel to the magnetic path. In addition, the secondary part includes a plurality of permanent magnets, which are fixed in place on inner sides of the yoke plates pointing toward the magnetic path. The permanent magnets each have a width that decreases in an extension direction perpendicular to the magnetic path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2022
    Assignee: ETEL S.A.
    Inventors: Sylwia Szczukiewicz, Loïc Moreno
  • Patent number: 11482951
    Abstract: The brake driving control circuit, which controls an electromagnetic brake that releases the brake by applying a current, is provided with: a first rectifying element provided between a first power supply of a first circuit voltage and one terminal of the electromagnetic brake; a cut-off switch inserted into a line through which the first power supply supplies power; a first switching element provided between the other terminal of the electromagnetic brake and a ground point; and a second switching element and a second rectifying element provided in series between a second power supply of a second circuit voltage, which is different from the first circuit voltage, and the one terminal of the electromagnetic brake.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: NIDEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hideyuki Odagiri
  • Patent number: 11465511
    Abstract: A vehicle includes a multi-core processor having first, second, and cores and having first and second analog-to-digital converters (ADC) associated with the first and second cores, respectively. The first and second ADC are configured to convert analog phase currents to first and second digital phase current values, respectively. The multi-core processor is configured to generate first and second rotor-angle data from digital signals representing a position of the electric machine. The processor is programmed to, via the first core, estimate a first output torque of the electric machine based on the first rotor-angle data and the first digital phase current values, via the second core, estimate a second output torque based on the second rotor-angle data and the second digital phase current values, and, via the third core, command de-activation of the electric machine in response to a difference between the first and second output torques exceeding a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: John Proietty, Susan Rebecca Cikanek, Bader M. Badreddine, William Reynolds, Matthew Allan Herrmann
  • Patent number: 11458932
    Abstract: A sensor assembly includes a cylindrical sensor window defining an axis, and an annular member coupled to the sensor window and rotatable about the axis. The annular member includes a nozzle aimed at the sensor window and oriented at an acute angle from a radial direction toward the axis in a plane orthogonal to the axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Dhaval P. Vaishnav, Yi-Hsin Yen, Syed K. Ali, Andre Sykula, Venkatesh Krishnan
  • Patent number: 11418140
    Abstract: An induction motor controller is provided. The induction motor controller includes a first module that derives a commanded stator voltage vector, in a rotor flux reference frame, via a rotor flux regulator loop and a torque regulator loop, which process at least partially in the rotor flux reference frame. The induction motor controller includes a second module that processes the commanded stator voltage vector to produce AC (alternating current) power for an induction motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Atieva, Inc.
    Inventor: Yifan Tang
  • Patent number: 11387763
    Abstract: A method of controlling an electric motor includes determining a PWM control signal, analyzing the PWM control signal to determine if components of the PWM signal are within a threshold amount of each other, applying duty-cycle blanking to the PWM control signal, if the components of the PWM control signal are within the threshold amount of each other, to generate an adjusted PWM control signal, and controlling the electric motor with the adjusted the PWM signal to limit parasitic effects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
    Inventors: Sayeed A. Mir, John D. Neely, Stanley L. Seely, John M. White
  • Patent number: 11356045
    Abstract: A double virtual voltage vectors predictive torque control method without weighting factor for five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor includes: obtaining the current component in the two-phase stationary coordinate system and the outputting voltage at k interval; one step delay compensation is performed to obtain the current component in the two-phase stationary coordinate system at k+1 interval; predicting the flux and torque of motor at k+1 interval; calculating the reference voltage vector needed by the motor at k+1 interval according to the deadbeat principle and selecting the first virtual voltage vector; selecting the second virtual voltage vector according to the voltage error tracking principle and calculating the duration of the first virtual voltage vector and the second virtual voltage vector respectively and then synthesizing the two vectors and outputting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: JIANGSU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Wenxiang Zhao, Huanan Wang, Tao Tao, Dezhi Xu
  • Patent number: 11329589
    Abstract: A mining machine including a motor, an adjustable speed drive providing a voltage to the motor, the voltage having an excitation component comprising a magnitude and a frequency for operating the motor at a desired speed and including an additional voltage component for use in detecting a ground fault condition, and a ground fault relay for detecting a ground fault current when the ground fault current exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Joy Global Underground Mining LLC
    Inventors: Peter M. Dalton, Michael Jordan
  • Patent number: 11296639
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an inverter which is capable of adjusting an output frequency of a three-phase voltage output to a motor based on a result of comparison in magnitude between the minimum operating voltage of the motor and a DC link voltage applied to a DC link. The inverter includes: a measurement part configured to measure a DC link voltage applied to a DC link; a conversion part configured to convert the DC link voltage into a three-phase voltage and output the three-phase voltage to the motor; and a control part configured to make comparison in magnitude between the DC link voltage and the minimum operating voltage of the motor and adjust an output frequency of the three-phase voltage based on a result of the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: LSIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hyo-Jin Kim
  • Patent number: 11296634
    Abstract: A method and system for sensorless determination of the orientation of the rotor of an ironless PMSM motor from a known rotor angle is described. The method and system include: specifying a rotor system according to the rotor angle; applying voltage pulses to the phases of the motor in the torque-forming direction of the rotor system; measuring the current in the phases of the motor; determining the expected back EMF along the flux-forming axis, based on the measured current; forming an integral of the expected back EMF by time integration of the expected back EMF along the flux-forming axis and/or a filter-based accumulation function; and determining the orientation of the rotor from the algebraic sign of the integral of the expected back EMF and/or the accumulation function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: MAXON INTERNATIONL AG
    Inventors: Damian Frick, Sébastien Mariéthoz, Marko Tanaskovic, David Lehmann
  • Patent number: 11256228
    Abstract: An electronic device has a method capable of automatically executing angle rotation. A second body is rotatably connected to a first body of the electronic device. A hinge mechanism is disposed between the first body and the second body. The hinge mechanism includes a hinge component, a motor unit, a coupling component and an angle detecting unit. The first body and the second body are connected to the hinge component. The motor unit is electrically connected to a controller of the electronic device. The coupling component is connected between the hinge component and the motor unit. The angle detecting unit is connected to the hinge component or the coupling component to read its rotary angle. The controller drives the motor unit to rotate the hinge component via the coupling component, and the second body can be moved relative to the first body and be fixed at a predetermined position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Wistron Corporation
    Inventors: Chen-Yi Liang, Cheng-Wei Chang, Che-Wen Liu
  • Patent number: 11239785
    Abstract: A vehicle includes an electric machine with two sets of galvanically isolated windings, first and second inverters, a switching arrangement, and a controller. During charge, the controller operates the switching arrangement to isolate the first inverter from the electric machine to permit charge current to flow through one of the sets and induce a voltage in the other of the sets. During propulsion, the controller operates the switching arrangement to couple the first inverter with the one of the sets such that the first and second inverters are configured to only power one of the sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ali Najmabadi, Hadi Malek
  • Patent number: 11223313
    Abstract: A device according to an embodiment includes an inverter main circuit; a detector configured to detect a current of an output line of the inverter main circuit; a starting time controller comprising a rotational phase angle estimator configured to calculate, based on a current response value detected by the detector, a value corresponding to a rotational phase angle of a motor connected to the inverter main circuit in a stationary reference frame, and a rotational speed estimator configured to calculate a value corresponding to a rotational speed of the motor by using the value corresponding to the rotational phase angle when the inverter main circuit is started; and a regular time controller configured to calculate, with the value corresponding to the rotational speed as an initial value, an estimated rotational phase angle of the motor in a rotating reference frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignees: Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & Solutions Corporation, Toshiba Industrial Products and Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Shun Taniguchi, Kazuya Yasui, Tomoaki Shigeta
  • Patent number: 11218102
    Abstract: In a method for determining the rotor position of a three-phase machine without using a rotary encoder, and a device for controlling a three-phase motor without using a rotary encoder, the three-phase machine is fed by a converter that can be operated by pulse-width modulation, and the converter has model variables for the rotor angle and the current indicator of the three-phase machine, and the converter has device(s) by using which, in control operation, at least two values are measured which represent a measure of the local inductances of the machine which represent a measure of the local inductances of the machine, the error of the model rotor angle is determined in that, depending on the model rotor angle and the model current indicator, at least two weighting factors are determined, and in that a weighted sum is formed from the at least two measured values and the at least two weighting factors, and in that a further offset value is subtracted from the sum, which is likewise determined on the basis of t
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: SEW-EURODRIVE GMBH & CO. KG
    Inventors: Wolfgang Hammel, Harald Wolf