Having Electrical Synchronizing Interconnections Patents (Class 318/41)
  • Patent number: 7432674
    Abstract: A transmission path delay is set in a shift setting register. A slave unit generates a PRE_ITP signal in response to a timing signal (ITP signal) issued by a master unit. The phase difference between this PRE_ITP signal and the ITP signal unique to the slave unit is loaded into a period modification counter. A timer corrects a reference value, outputs position/speed control period signals (SYN signals) and counts down the period modification counter with these SYN signals until the period modification counter reaches zero. Furthermore, the ITP signal unique to the slave unit is outputted every time a predetermined number of the SYN signals are outputted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2008
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd.
    Inventors: Kazunari Aoyama, Kunitaka Komaki, Minoru Nakamura, Takaaki Komatsu
  • Patent number: 7425806
    Abstract: A variable speed drive is provided having a converter to convert an AC voltage to a DC voltage, a DC link to filter and store energy from the converter, and a plurality of inverters. Each inverter is configured to convert a DC voltage to an AC voltage and is electrically connected in parallel to the DC link. An interleaved pulse width modulation control technique is used to control the operation of the plurality of inverters and possibly the converter to lower the RMS ripple current in the DC link.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2008
    Assignee: York International Corporation
    Inventors: Harold Robert Schnetzka, Ivan Jadric, Scott Victor Slothower
  • Patent number: 7417386
    Abstract: A method and assembly for synchronizing machine operations, the assembly comprising a reference generator for generating a speed reference signal and a position reference signal, a plurality of slave units, each slave unit including, a mechanical device, a separate motor linked to and driving the mechanical device and a separate unit controller for controlling the unit motor, the unit controller receiving and using the reference signals to control motor operation and a synchronizer receiving the reference signals from the control signal source and simultaneously providing the reference signals to each of the slave unit controllers for use in controlling operation of the motors in a synchronized fashion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard W. Piefer, Thomas J. Rehm, Kevin L. Baumann, Christopher W. Como, John D. Davis, David C. Stringfellow
  • Patent number: 7304444
    Abstract: A battery vehicle includes a battery configured to supply DC power, and first and second motors configured to drive first and second wheels in response to first and second motor drive powers, respectively. A first inverters generates a first control data and supplies the first motor drive power to the first motor from the DC power while limiting the first motor drive power based on the first control data and a second data. A second inverter generates the second control data and supplies the second motor drive power to the second motor from the DC power while limiting the second motor drive power based on the first and second control data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2007
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shinichi Takano, Mitsugu Nakamura, Teruo Mizuno, Kazuya Fukuda
  • Patent number: 7292002
    Abstract: In a control method for a twin synchronization in which two motors for driving two axes (moving elements 3) mechanically fastened to each other by a fastening part (a fastening jig 6) are synchronously operated, one of the two axes is operated at low speed by a position control and the other axis is allowed to freely run and follow the one axis and a return to the origin is performed. A positional deviation between the one axis and the other axis is measured at an arbitrary pitch. The positional deviation corresponding to a position where the one axis travels is stored in a data base as a function. One position command is directly distributed to the one axis as a main position command and the position command is distributed to the other axis as a position command corrected by using the function stored in the data base to perform an operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventors: Kanji Watanabe, Kazuhiko Watariyou, Naoto Kiyota
  • Patent number: 7282873
    Abstract: A multi-fan apparatus and method incorporates mutual active cancellation of fan noise and/or vibrations. The multi-fan apparatus includes two or more fans circuits, each comprising a fan, a fan speed controller and a separate tachometer, and a fan phase controller. The phase controller is connected to at least one fan speed controller and to each tachometer. Each fan's speed is independently and dynamically maintained at the same set speed by the fan speed controllers using an independent control loops. A noise and/or vibration cancellation phase difference between fans is determined in order to achieve destructive interference of pressure waves and, thus, noise and/or vibration reduction, in pre-determined region of a system incorporating the multi-fan apparatus. The phase controller establishes and maintains this cancellation phase difference between the fans based upon feedback from the tachometers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
    Inventors: Bulent Abali, D. Scott Guthridge, Richard E. Harper, Peter A. Manson, Harry B. Marr, Jr.
  • Patent number: 7276865
    Abstract: A power output apparatus includes two motor generators, a DC power supply, a relay, three inverters and a control CPU. One of the motor generators includes three-phase coils. The DC power supply is connected via the relay between respective neutral points of the three-phase coils. When the sum of respective powers of the motor generators is zero, the control CPU generates a signal SE at L level for rendering the relay OFF to output the generated signal to the relay, and generates signals PWMC1, PWMC2 and PWMI3 for driving the other motor generator by electric power generated by the one motor generator to output the generated signals to the inverters respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2007
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kiyoe Ochiai
  • Patent number: 7202616
    Abstract: A synchronous control device which is provided with drive motors and a central control unit generating a synchronous reference signal and with which the drive motor is controlled to rotate synchronously with the synchronous reference signal supplied from the central control unit, which is provided with: device motor brakes for braking a rotation of the drive motor; machine home position detectors for detecting a rotation phase of the drive motor; and drive controlling means for controlling a drive motor in such a manner that the drive braking means is activated depending on a stop instruction supplied from the central control unit and a required rotation phase of the drive motor is stored; a comparison between the required rotation phase of the drive motor and the rotation phase thereof is performed at the time of re-start; and a home position alignment of the drive motor is performed at a start time of a subsequent operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Komori Corporation
    Inventor: Hiromitsu Numauchi
  • Patent number: 7196488
    Abstract: A motor driving apparatus capable of drivingly controlling a plurality of inverter units with a single motor driving command from a motor control unit, and thereby control a large-capacity motor or the like. The motor control unit sends out a single motor driving command (torque command) S. An intermediary unit obtains motor driving commands S×A1 to S×A4 for the inverter units by multiplying the motor driving command S by each of coefficients A1 to A4 set in advance. The inverter units are fed with the motor driving commands S×A1 to S×A4 individually and drive a single motor. Since the motor is driven by the total current supplied by the inverter units, the motor can generate a large torque. The motor control unit only needs to generate a single motor driving command S, and hence only needs to operate a single processing part. Hence, the motor control unit can generate and send out motor driving commands for other motors to drive them.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2007
    Assignee: Fanuc Ltd
    Inventors: Shunsuke Matsubara, Shinichi Horikoshi, Hiroyasu Sato
  • Patent number: 7148635
    Abstract: A motor control system for controlling a motor includes control logic and a motor controller. The control logic is operable to generate a control signal at a first periodic time responsive to a synchronization signal. The motor controller is operable to generate a drive signal for the motor based on the reference signal at a second periodic time synchronized with respect to the first periodic time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2006
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard W. Piefer, Thomas J. Rehm, Takayoshi Matsuo
  • Patent number: 7148638
    Abstract: A drive motor assembly for a power driven wheelchair comprises: a stator housing for containing field coils of a stator of the motor assembly; at least one sensor disposed in the stator housing for sensing rotation of the motor; a memory storing motor error parameter data including data of errors of the at least one sensor, the memory being embedded in the stator housing; and a connection for accessing the error parameter data of the memory from the stator housing. The motor error parameter data may be accessed from the embedded memory of the drive motor by a programmed motor controller for use in controlling the drive motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2006
    Assignee: Invacare Corporation
    Inventors: Theodore D. Wakefield, II, Thomas Strothmann, Neal Joseph Curran
  • Patent number: 7097329
    Abstract: An underwater lighting fixture adapted for installation in a wall of a swimming pool. The lighting fixture includes a housing having an interior cavity and a transparent cover. A color changing electric light assembly is provided in the interior cavity. The light assembly emits a plurality of different colors of light through the transparent cover and cycles through the plurality of different colors of light to sequentially emit each of the plurality of different colors of light. An electrical conductor extends through the housing into the interior cavity for delivering power to the color changing electric light assembly. A synchronization circuit responds to a timed interruption in the power for synchronizing the color changing electric light assembly with a color changing electric light assembly of another underwater lighting fixture connected to the same power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Pentair Pool Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael V. Mateescu, Kevin Potucek, Robert Bachman
  • Patent number: 7088061
    Abstract: A drive system powering a group of machines each fitted with a rectifying unit, wherein the inputs of the control devices of the machines' drive motors are interconnected by an electrical bus which implements a power exchange. The system enables swapping current from a power supply between motors of different machines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Picanol N.V.
    Inventor: Walter Bilcke
  • Patent number: 6989642
    Abstract: A drive motor assembly for a power driven wheelchair comprises: a stator housing for containing field coils of a stator of the motor assembly; at least one sensor disposed in the stator housing for sensing rotation of the motor; a memory storing motor error parameter data including data of errors of the at least one sensor, the memory being embedded in the stator housing; and a connection for accessing the error parameter data of the memory from the stator housing. The motor error parameter data may be accessed from the embedded memory of the drive motor by a programmed motor controller for use in controlling the drive motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: Invacare Corporation
    Inventors: Theodore D. Wakefield, II, Thomas Strothmann, Neal Joseph Curran
  • Patent number: 6971473
    Abstract: Steering apparatus for transmitting a driving force of a motor through a gear mechanism to a rack shaft of a steering system and applying the driving force to steering road wheels in a steering direction. The apparatus has first and second motors. In the transmission of driving forces from output shafts of the first and second motors to the rack shaft, the phases of the two motors are essentially staggered by 180 degree.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Furumi, Osamu Tsurumiya, Kazuhiko Inaba, Hisao Asaumi, Yoshio Kakizaki, Hirokazu Kitazawa, Tomoaki Sugano, Shinji Suto, Hiroaki Horii, Fumihiro Morishita, Junichi Yoshida
  • Patent number: 6972532
    Abstract: By controlling all motors so that they all decelerate at substantially the same rate, buckling of media in a media handling system is substantially eliminated on shutdown. Preferably, the deceleration rate of the highest inertia motor is used as the common deceleration rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2005
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel L. Carter, Richard C. Schenk
  • Patent number: 6943523
    Abstract: For self-switching control of a brushless motor (10) powered by means of a predetermined electrical cycle in order to cause the rotor to advance, the control system comprises an indicator device (100) for indicating the mechanical position of the rotor, the device being associated with a detector device (50) forming an incremental coder device (150) for encoding the mechanical position of the rotor. The system also comprises a motor control assembly made up of processor means (20) for processing the signals coding the mechanical position of the rotor connected to regulator means (30) for powering the plurality of stator windings. The device for indicating the mechanical position of the rotor comprises at least one series (101) of indications of the mechanical position of the rotor corresponding to passing through one electrical cycle of the stator, whereby the incremental coder device (150) delivers the processor means with one synchronization signal for each electrical cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2005
    Assignee: MIDI Ingenierie
    Inventor: Jacques Feres
  • Patent number: 6907318
    Abstract: A multi-station robotic welding assembly includes a mounting platform, and a plurality of robots attached to the mounting platform and located in respective weld stations. Each of the robots includes an elongated movable arm and wrist. A welding torch is attached to each of the robots, and is adapted for being manipulated by the movable arm and wrist. A rotatable fixture base is located on the mounting platform, and is adapted for supporting a plurality of fixtures. Each of the fixtures is adapted for holding and positioning a workpiece for welding in respective weld stations. A base indexer is adapted for repeatedly rotating the fixture base by a predetermined degree, such that the fixtures are positioned within respective weld stations for an index interval sufficient to complete welding of the workpieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Tubing Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael L. Passmore, Douglas E. Smyth
  • Patent number: 6888334
    Abstract: A reference variable having a linear relationship with the angular position of a master axis is set, and a correspondence between this reference variable and the displacement of a slave axis is stored in a data table. One execution stage is specified by setting a starting reference variable and an ending reference variable from this data table. A desired sequence is assigned to a plurality of execution stages thus specified. The reference variable corresponding to the angular position of the master axis is determined, slave axis displacement data corresponding to the reference variable is read out, and the slave axis is positioned in accordance with the position of the master axis on the basis of this displacement data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: Fanuc LTD
    Inventors: Kentaro Fujibayashi, Tetsuo Hishikawa, Takashi Idei
  • Patent number: 6876162
    Abstract: The invention relates to method and apparatus for controlling the powering of electric drive motors (8) of a group of at least two machines (2, 3, 4), the motors operating in periodic motions, wherein the periodic motions are mutually coordinated in a manner so as to control a parameter which is representative of the operations of the machines. Parameters may include one or more of the sum of the electric power applied to the drive motors, the magnitude of the noise level generated by the machines and machine-caused vibrations. The drive motors of one machine may be controlled as a function of the periodic motion of the drive motor of the other machine, and power applied to one drive motor may be applied as a function of a mutually related drive motion of the machines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2005
    Assignee: Picanol N.V.
    Inventor: Walter Bilcke
  • Patent number: 6864646
    Abstract: A multiple inverter system is powered from a common energy source such as a battery. First and second inverters are coupled to the common energy source and drive corresponding motors. First and second controllers provide pulse width modulated signals, modulated with respect to first and second clock signals, respectively, to the respective first and second inverters. A capacitor coupled between a power bus and a ground bus smoothes power bus ripples caused by simultaneous switching. To reduce the size needed for the capacitor, different modulation schemes, such as center based interleaved, and leading and lagging edge coincident, are used when both motors are in the motoring mode or both motors are in the regeneration mode. However, the same modulation scheme is used when one motor is in the motoring mode and the other motor is in the regeneration mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2005
    Assignee: General Motors Corporation
    Inventors: Khwaja M. Rahman, Silva Hiti, Scott D. Downer, Brian Welchko
  • Patent number: 6856106
    Abstract: An apparatus has a first H-bridge having a first motor contact on a shared first side and a second motor contact on a second side. The apparatus also has a half H-bridge having a third motor contact on a third side, wherein the shared first side of the first H-bridge and the third side of the half H-bridge may be operated as a second H-bridge. Another apparatus has a first H-bridge having a first motor contact on a shared first side and a second motor contact on a second side. The other apparatus also has a switch coupled to a third motor contact, wherein the shared first side of the first H-bridge and the switch may be operated as a partial H-bridge. A method of operating an alternate H-bridge and a method of flexibly using an H-bridge circuit on an ASIC are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Paul D. Bliley, William S. Eaton
  • Patent number: 6815915
    Abstract: A device for supplying energy by means of a first DC voltage source e.g. in the form of a DC voltage bus, a drive system comprising several electric motors is connected to said DC voltage bus. The electric motors are comprised e.g. in a number of yarn feeding devices co-acting with a weft insertion system in a shuttleless weaving machine for producing a woven fabric having a multi-colour pattern. The electric motors operate with energy consumption function phases (start and acceleration) and with energy generating function phases (deceleration or braking). The first DC voltage source is associated with at least one second DC voltage source via a variable voltage converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2004
    Assignee: Aros Electronics AB
    Inventor: Jerker Hellstroem
  • Patent number: 6809497
    Abstract: A drive unit for a brushless fan motor capable of easily controlling the rational speed of the motor without using PWM control. A power control circuit is provided for controlling the rational speed of the rotor by controlling the on/off operation of power feed semiconductor switch. The actual rotational speed of the rotor is compared with the target rotational speed. Based on the compared values, the turn-off time of the power feed semiconductor switch is controlled so that the rotational speed of the rotor may reach the target rotational speed fast and smoothly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2001
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Sanyo Denki Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naruhiko Kudo, Masato Murata
  • Publication number: 20040160201
    Abstract: A multiple inverter system is powered from a common energy source such as a battery. First and second inverters are coupled to the common energy source and drive corresponding motors. First and second controllers provide pulse width modulated signals, modulated with respect to first and second clock signals, respectively, to the respective first and second inverters. A capacitor coupled between a power bus and a ground bus smoothes power bus ripples caused by simultaneous switching. To reduce the size needed for the capacitor, different modulation schemes, such as center based interleaved, and leading and lagging edge coincident, are used when both motors are in the motoring mode or both motors are in the regeneration mode. However, the same modulation scheme is used when one motor is in the motoring mode and the other motor is in the regeneration mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2003
    Publication date: August 19, 2004
    Inventors: Khwaja M. Rahman, Silva Hiti, Scott D. Downer, Brian Welchko
  • Patent number: 6757586
    Abstract: An improved robot arrangement for performing predetermined tasks, such as paint finishing, features equipping a robot with a plurality of manipulatable arms, with at least two of the arms performing like operations. Alternatively, a plurality of commonly controlled manipulator arms may be provided by clustering a plurality of conventional single arm robots on a common mounting stand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2004
    Assignee: ABB Automation Inc.
    Inventors: Dragoslav K. Milojevic, John K. Ashworth, Jan T. Nielsson
  • Patent number: 6734645
    Abstract: In an electrically driven automobile, a dynamo-electric generating device(s) is attached to one or more free-running wheels of the vehicle, which are not connected to the power drive of the vehicle. The free-running wheels are rotated by contact with the road surface as the vehicle is powered forward. The free-running wheels rotate one or more electric generating devices to produce electrical energy which is stored alternately in one or more electrical storage systems. The other non-charging electrical storage system(s) concurrently provides power to the electric motor which drives the vehicle through one or more of the wheels connected to the power train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Inventor: Seymour Auerbach
  • Patent number: 6734644
    Abstract: A method (and apparatus) includes that a duty ratio of a driving voltage output to each wiper motor be required to be set according to several conditions. That is, while each wiper blade is moved in an interval from a starting position to a predetermined first wiping position in an upward operation, the duty ratio of a wiper motor on a driver's seat side is set so that the duty ratio is larger than the duty ratio of a wiper motor on a passenger seat side. Also, while each wiper blade is moved in another interval from each upper return position to a predetermined second wiping position in a return operation, the duty ratio of the wiper motor on the passenger seat side is set so that the duty ratio is larger than the duty ratio of the wiper motor on the driver's seat side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 11, 2004
    Assignee: Jidosha Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Noboru Kaneko, Koji Aoki
  • Patent number: 6674256
    Abstract: A battery powered, joystick controlled wheelchair includes a battery by which a supply of power can be provided, a joystick by which voltages proportionate to degrees of lean from a neutral position can be produced from the supply of power, and a master power switch by which the supply of power to the joystick can be turned on and off. It is detected whether the voltages produced are forward or reverse direction voltages, and pulse width modulation, resulting in a pulse train, is provided. The pulse train is amplified to deliver driving power with a polarity consistent with a detected direction, and motors are driven by the driving power and, in turn, drive the wheelchair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2004
    Assignee: Mobility E-Z, LLC
    Inventors: Oong Choi, Henry Jones, Fred E. Ingle
  • Publication number: 20030132724
    Abstract: In a method of connecting an electric rotating machine, a second predetermined number of feeders on each of which a total sum of a current flow is zeroed is selected when the second predetermined number of the feeders are interconnected at a neutral point by a third predetermined number of groups from among a first predetermined number of the feeders and each coil of the rotating machine is connected between a corresponding one of the first predetermined number of the feeders and a corresponding one of the second predetermined number of the feeders for each of the third predetermined number of the groups, a product between the second predetermined number and the third predetermined number corresponding to that between a number of current phases in the compound current for driving a corresponding one of rotors and a number of pole pairs of the corresponding one of the rotors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Publication date: July 17, 2003
    Applicant: NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Minoru Arimitsu
  • Patent number: 6590359
    Abstract: A method for the synchronized control of a plurality of stepping motors SM1, SM2 . . . SMn which serve as drives in a feed system, wherein the stepping motors SM1, SM2 . . . SMn are controlled with a base frequency fa and a cycle of the base frequency fa is proportional to a given step length SL. Different step lengths SL1, SL2 . . . SLn are triggered fith each cycle of the same base frequency fa in the individual stepping motors SM1, SM2. . . SMn, wherein a specific step length SL1 is associated with stepping motor SM1, a specific step length SL2 is associated with stepping motor SM2, and so forth. Accordingly, it is no longer required to provide separate control frequencies for every stepping motor. All stepping motors can now be controlled at the same frequency and only a counter unit or timer unit is required for all stepping motors of the positioning system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2003
    Assignee: Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH
    Inventors: Tobias Kaufhold, Ralf Joram
  • Publication number: 20030107905
    Abstract: A load drive circuit, disposed to drive an inductive load, includes a reflux closed circuit connected to the load. A flywheel diode is placed in the reflux closed circuit. A MOS transistor, disposed to turn on/off current to drive the load, is connected in parallel to the flywheel diode. A capacitor is disposed to connect its both ends to a gate and a drain of the MOS transistor, while a resistor is disposed to connect its both ends to the gate and a source of the MOS transistor. During a recovery operation of the flywheel diode, with the help of the capacitor and resistor, a gate-to-source voltage of the MOS transistor is pulled up to a value over a threshold for a predetermined period of time. Pulling up the gate-to-source voltage results in a softened recovery characteristic of the flywheel diode, suppressing recovery surges.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Publication date: June 12, 2003
    Inventors: Shoji Miura, Tomoatsu Makino, Fuminari Suzuki
  • Patent number: 6486632
    Abstract: A controller for motor/generators is proposed which allows reductions in ripple current generated by an inverter driving a power-generating motor/generator and a vehicle-driving motor/generator. The control device for motor/generators has a first inverter which supplies a control current to a first motor/generator used mainly as an electrical motor, a second inverter which supplies a control current to a second motor/generator used mainly as a generator, a first PWM signal generating circuit which drives the switching elements of the first inverter based on a first carrier signal, a second PWM signal generating circuit which drives the switching elements of the second inverter based on a second carrier signal which has the same period of the first carrier signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2001
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2002
    Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiji Okushima, Yasuhiko Kitajima, Shinichiro Kitada, Toshio Kikuchi, Yutaro Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6476570
    Abstract: A device and a process for controlling the motor drives (121) of textile machines, comprising at least one “encoder” (101), capable of controlling the number of revolutions of each motor (121), and at least one central electronic unit (111) processing the data originating from all the motor drives (121), based on an application program containing the synchronizing data between the individual motors (121) and the technological operating parameters of the textile machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2000
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2002
    Assignee: Marzoli S.p.A.
    Inventors: Giovanni Battista Pasini, Cesare Marella, Gian Mario Baitelli
  • Patent number: 6417643
    Abstract: A synchronous control device according to the present invention completes an origin matching between a master section and a slave section without causing a phase difference even when a deceleration device is employed in the master section or in the slave section so as to perform an accurate synchronous control. The synchronous control device constantly detects the phase of a shaft of a master electric motor by a phase detector of the master electric motor according to the outputs of a master rotary encoder, and the phase of a shaft of the master machine by a phase detector of the shaft of the master machine according to the outputs of a master rotary encoder and an origin detector of the shaft of the master machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisya Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho
    Inventors: Noriyuki Shiba, Toru Akiyama, Masakatsu Fujita, Hiroyuki Hisada, Ikuo Kotani
  • Patent number: 6373204
    Abstract: A motor controller includes: a driver stage operable to provide voltage and current to a plurality of induction motors over a single power bus; and a control unit operable to monitor the current drawn from the driver stage and cause one or more of the induction motors to operate in a regenerative mode to supply current to at least one other of the induction motors when the current drawn from the driver stage exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Assignee: BAE Systems Controls, Inc.
    Inventors: William Anders Peterson, Arthur Paull Lyons
  • Patent number: 6361600
    Abstract: A drive pulley is disposed to a driving motor. A plurality of follower pulleys are disposed to a rotating shaft of a spin chuck that vacuum sucks a substrate. A belt is passed from one follower pulley to the drive pulley. Belts are passed from the other follower pulleys to the drive shafts of a plurality of air motors. Since the air motors assist the driving of the driving motor, a large substrate can be rotated at a predetermined rotating acceleration. Thus, a film forming apparatus and a film forming method that allow the quantity of process solution supplied to be reduced and a film of process solution to be equally formed on a substrate can be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2002
    Assignee: Tokyo Electron Limited
    Inventors: Kiyohisa Tateyama, Tsutae Omori
  • Patent number: 6326747
    Abstract: A synchronization control device and a synchronization control method are provided in which it includes controllers Am and As1 of a master section and a slave section for accurately synchronizing rotational frequency and rotation phases of driving electric motors Mm and Ms1. The controller As1 includes rotational frequency detectors Ss1, Fs1, a master phase counter Cm1, and a slave phase counter Cs1, and detects at all times both of a rotational frequency and a rotation phase of the electric motors Mm of the master based upon an output of the rotary encoder Pm, and further detects at all times both of a rotational frequency and a rotation phase of the electric motor Ms1 of the slave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisya Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho
    Inventors: Noriyuki Shiba, Keiichi Fukushima, Takeshi Mitsuhashi, Ikuo Kotani
  • Patent number: 6316847
    Abstract: A hoisting system is provided for moving a group of basketball backstops via a source of power between a stored position and a use position. Each backstop has a winch with a reversible motor and a circuit for operating each motor in one direction to raise its backstop and in a reverse direction to lower its backstop. A network of manually closable switching mechanisms is connected with the source of power for first indicating the winch motors to be activated, and then operating the winch motors in the one direction or the reverse direction. An array of electromagnetic actuating devices is interconnected with and responsive to the switching mechanisms for enabling the synchronous movement of any number of backstops in the group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Inventor: John D. Crockett
  • Patent number: 6312225
    Abstract: A gear pump having two meshing gears which are each assigned to a shaft and which are each driven by a driving unit. The driving units are controllable by a control unit such that the shafts rotate at a definable angular velocity. The control units having a symmetrical construction, and a control device provided in each control unit, each control device being connected to the other by way of a data line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1999
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2001
    Assignee: Maag Pump Systems Textron AG
    Inventor: Maurice Bussard
  • Patent number: 6288509
    Abstract: In an opposed wiping type wiper apparatus, left and right wiper blades which perform wiping operations with a predetermined preceding-following relationship maintained are layered vertically at their lower returning positions. A wiper drive control unit controls preceding-following relationships between the left and right wiper blades to prevent locking and stopping of the wiper blades when the relationship has changed by replacing left and right control forms for the blades. When the timer of the wiper blade which is to be in the follower side during normal operation is not reset but overflows among timers which are respectively reset pulse signals generated in accordance with rotations of motors, the output of the motor which drives the wiper blade which is to be in the follower side during normal operations is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2001
    Assignee: Mitsuba Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Amagasa
  • Patent number: 6157154
    Abstract: In a wiper apparatus for carrying out wiping motion with use of rotational drive of a motor, reverse rotation due to the application of external force on the wiper blade is positively detected. In response to the detection result, the motion of the motor and the wiper blade is controlled. The detection of the reverse rotation is carried our such that two kinds of periodic signals are generated depending on the rotation direction of the drive shaft, and the phase relationship between the periodic signals are arranged to differ depending on the rotation direction, and then the rotation direction is detected from the phase relationship. The wiper apparatus may be an opposing type wiper apparatus having a pair of wiper blades, and control operation of the wiper blades may be arranged such that the position taken by the wiper blade is detected by counting a number of pulses which are generated in association with the rotation of the drive shaft of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsuba Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Amagasa
  • Patent number: 6147466
    Abstract: A synchronization system according to the present invention includes a signal generator that provides a "RUN" signal simultaneously to two or more windshield wiper motors in response to simultaneous receipt of position signals generated by the motors. Each motor generates a position signal when the windshield wiper controlled by the motor is at a predetermined position. A gate circuit monitors the output of each motor to determine whether the motor is in the predetermined position. The gate circuit provides a trigger signal to the signal generator of the present invention only when each motor outputs a position signal. The trigger signal causes the signal generator to produce a subsequent "RUN" signal initiating another wipe cycle. Accordingly, the motors begin each cycle in synchronization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2000
    Assignee: Commercial Vehicle Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Steven J. Stronczek
  • Patent number: 6107766
    Abstract: There is provided a method for controlling an opposed wiping type wiper apparatus having a pair of wiper blades driven by a pair of motors, respectively. The wiper apparatus includes detecting means for detecting the angular position of the each wiper blade, calculating means for calculating the angular distance of one wiper blade relative to the other wiper blade, memory means for memorizing therein a reference table of target angular distances in advance for the wiper blades, and control means for controlling the pair of wiper blades so that the angular distance of each of the wiper blades is brought close to the corresponding target angular distance.The wiper apparatus also may control the wiper blade velocity. In this case, the wiper apparatus further includes a reference table of target velocities and the wiper blades are controlled based on the target angular distance and target velocity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsuba Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Amagasa
  • Patent number: 6072287
    Abstract: A number N of AC machines, such as motors or generators, are independently controlled by a control system having 2N+1 phases, having N orthogonal sets of phase components. In a particular application, a hybrid vehicle including a generator and an induction motor are independently controlled by a five-phase controller having two independent sets of mutually orthogonal components. Each set of components controls one of the machines, and has no net effect on the other machine(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventor: Slobodan Gataric
  • Patent number: 6069465
    Abstract: The invention relates to a control system (1) for light regulating devices such as blinds or shades. The control system comprises a control unit (6, 6') for connecting to a motor drive (7) of a light regulating device. The control unit comprises a first input (18) for receiving motor control data along a data supply line (9, 9"). A second input (17, 26, 26') is provided for receiving decentralized user commands for altering the position of the light regulating device. The control system is characterized in that the control unit (6, 6'), by means of an external command input (25') can be set into either a slave mode in which data can only be received or into a master mode in which data can be received and transmitted along the data supply line (9, 9'). Hereby any light regulating device can be selected as a master device for controlling the blinds in the same group. Preferably the command input of the control unit comprises a manually operatable switch such as a dip switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2000
    Assignee: Hunter Douglas International N.V.
    Inventors: Karl de Boois, Nicolaas Simon Nootebos
  • Patent number: 6011367
    Abstract: An improved control device for linear-motor-driven equipment, in particular for the drive of tenters of a film stretching plant, has a central control device (1) and a multiplicity of converters (11) that are activated thereby, at least indirectly. An improvement is achieved by a phase profile, which describes a relationship between the phase angle, the current amplitude and a clock pulse, for activating the stator winding (7) in a relevant zone (5), being able to be predefined for the converters (11), and by the corresponding phase-profile data for the activation of the stator winding (7) being able to be calculated and/or generated in the converters (11). In addition, a synchronization device, via which the time signals in the converters can be synchronized with one another during operation, is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: Bruckner Maschinenbau GmbH
    Inventors: Gunter Oedl, Rudolph Kreiner, Wolfgang Zintz
  • Patent number: 5917294
    Abstract: A master-slave synchronization control system is constructed having two drive systems for driving respective ones of two controlled objects capable of being operated individually, wherein the drive system having the slower response is adopted as the master and the drive system having the higher response is adopted as the slave. The drive system of the master, which has the elements of a velocity control system that operates to follow up an entered velocity command value, outputs velocity information and position information of its controlled object. The drive system of the slave has a velocity control system in which the velocity information is adopted as the velocity command value, and a position compensating loop in which the position information is adopted as a position command value. The position compensating loop adds the position compensation value to the velocity command value as a correction signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 1996
    Date of Patent: June 29, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Reiji Mitarai
  • Patent number: 5767635
    Abstract: In a displacement machine for compressible media having at least two rotors (14a-c) which are configured as profiled bodies and whose profiles engage with one another in the manner of gearwheels during rotation, the individual rotors are respectively driven by their own electric motors (9a-c) and are kept synchronous in rotational speed and angular position by electronic closed-loop and/or open-loop control units (1; 25a-c) in accordance with the transmission ratio of the displacer unit stage. The electronics can be employed for monitoring further operating data of the pump and also for matching the pump output by changing rotational speed. It can also be used as an overload protection. The rotational speeds and rotational attitudes of the rotors are controlled individually and independently of one another, the required attitude values being specified to the individual control units (25a-c) by means of a main control unit (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1998
    Assignee: SIHI GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Ralf Steffens, Andreas Salmen
  • Patent number: RE40165
    Abstract: A synchronization control device and a synchronization control method are provided in which it includes controllers Am and As1 of a master section and a slave section for accurately synchronizing rotational frequency and rotation phases of driving electric motors Mm and Ms1. The controller As1 includes rotational frequency detectors Ss1, Fs1, a master phase counter Cm1, and a slave phase counter Cs1, and detects at all times both of a rotational frequency and a rotation phase of the electric motors Mm of the master based upon an output of the rotary encoder Pm, and further detects at all times both of a rotational frequency and a rotation phase of the electric motor Ms1 of the slave.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisya Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho
    Inventors: Noriyuki Shiba, Keiichi Fukushima, Takeshi Mitsuhashi, Ikuo Kotani