Patents Examined by Bickey Dhakal
  • Patent number: 11581842
    Abstract: A magnet temperature estimating device for a motor including a rotor having magnets and configured to output a rotational motive force, and a stator having a plurality of coils opposing the rotor with a gap therebetween, is provided. The device includes a sensor configured to detect an induced voltage induced by rotation of the rotor, and a controller configured to control the motor by supplying power to the plurality of coils in response to an input of a detection signal from the sensor. Gaps adjacent to each magnet in a rotation direction of the rotor are formed in the rotor. The controller estimates a temperature of the magnet based on the induced voltage detected when the magnet opposes any one of the plurality of coils, according to the rotation of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuhide Seo, Genri Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11581835
    Abstract: Techniques and apparatus for determining the temperature of a permanent magnet on a rotor of an electrical motor. An example techniques involves determining a first set of parameters for controlling the electrical motor. A temperature of the rotor during a runtime of the electrical motor is determined, based at least in part on the first set of parameters and a first back-electromotive force (back-emf) associated with the electrical motor. A first estimate of a magnetic flux of the permanent magnet is determined based on the temperature of the rotor. An operation of the electrical motor is controlled based at least in part on the first estimate of the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Lizon Maharjan, Xiaoqi Wang
  • Patent number: 11577615
    Abstract: An electric assist system usable for an electric assist bicycle includes an electric motor that generates assist power assisting human power of a rider of the electric assist bicycle, a rotation sensor that outputs a signal in accordance with a rotation of a rotatable component that rotates to operate the electric assist bicycle, an acceleration sensor that outputs a signal in accordance with an acceleration of the electric assist bicycle in a traveling direction thereof, and a controller that calculates a speed of the electric assist bicycle based on an output signal of the rotation sensor and an output signal of the acceleration sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Mitsuharu Hasumi
  • Patent number: 11581834
    Abstract: A method for determining a motor angle, may include deriving a sensor weight and a sensorless weight via a cross product of an actual current vector and a model-based sensored current vector and a cross product of the actual current vector and a model-based sensorless current vector; and determining a final motor angle by applying the sensor weight and the sensorless weight to each of a sensored angle and a sensorless angle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, POSTECH Research and Business Development Foundation
    Inventors: Hee Kwang Lee, Hyun Seok Hong, Kwang Hee Nam, Tae Yeon Lee
  • Patent number: 11581832
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a controller. To control current through a motor winding, the controller monitors a magnitude of current supplied through the motor winding. The controller compares the magnitude of current to a threshold value. In response to detecting that the magnitude of current crosses the threshold value, the controller terminates a flow of the current through the motor winding. In one application, termination of the current through the motor winding supports more efficient use of energy to drive the motor winding. For example, via the controller, terminating the current through the motor winding to prevent the current from flowing in a reverse direction through the motor winding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventors: Pablo Yelamos Ruiz, Tao Zhao
  • Patent number: 11573075
    Abstract: A system for estimating the angular position of a rotating shaft in an aircraft, the system including at least three electromagnetic effect sensors. The system including a flight controller that runs a voting algorithm, wherein the voting algorithm computes an output datum based on shaft position datum that qualify as both active and admissible. Furthermore, system may include, as a component of the voting algorithm, a banning process where sensors that repeatedly return datum that are either not active or not admissible can be banned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: BETA AIR, LLC
    Inventor: Herman Wiegman
  • Patent number: 11571791
    Abstract: An electromechanical tool including a casing, a shaft driving a tip in rotation and a rotary transformer. The rotating shaft integrates an electronic circuit configured to measure a physical parameter of the shaft, and the rotary transformer includes a stator fixedly attached to the casing and a rotor affixed to the rotating shaft. The stator integrates a first coil and a first support of this first coil, and the rotor integrates a second coil and a second support of this second coil. The supports are made out of plasto-ferrite material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: ETABLISSEMENTS GEORGES RENAULT
    Inventors: Arnaud Gilibert, Julien Picard, Christophe Guihard
  • Patent number: 11566666
    Abstract: A processing machine includes: a static pressure bearing configured to support a drive shaft; a fluid feeder configured to output a fluid to be supplied to the static pressure bearing, in accordance with rotation of a servomotor; a sensor configured to detect a physical quantity of the fluid output from the fluid feeder; and a control unit configured to control the rotation speed of the servomotor according to the physical quantity of the fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yuuta Ishii, Hiroshi Minami
  • Patent number: 11563392
    Abstract: Systems, apparatus, and methods related to an automated footwear platform including motor control techniques. The motor control techniques can include operations such as operating a motor to produce different operating characteristics based on incoming battery voltage. More specifically, the control technique compares incoming battery voltage to a threshold voltage and selects from at least two target operating characteristics. If the voltage transgresses the threshold the motor is controlled to produce a first operating characteristic, and if the voltage does not transgress the threshold the motor is controlled to produce a second operating characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
    Inventor: Summer L. Schneider
  • Patent number: 11557900
    Abstract: A system contains a double fed induction machine having a stator and a rotor, a fly wheel coupled to the rotor, and a control device for providing a rotor voltage and a rotor current to the rotor. The control device is connected to the rotor and the stator and is capable of generating the rotor voltage and rotor current in response to an electrical signal that is applied to the stator. The control device has a multilevel converter and a control unit for controlling the multilevel converter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Felix Kammerer, Jens Rosendahl, Kunal Sharma, Nicol Hildebrand, Wilfried Hofmann, Martin Leubner, Nico Remus
  • Patent number: 11557998
    Abstract: A motor controller configured to drive a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) with Field Oriented Control (FOC), includes a current controller configured to generate control signals for driving the PMSM. The current controller is configured to measure current information of the PMSM, including a direct-axis motor current and a quadrature-axis motor current. The current controller includes a direct-axis current regulator configured to receive a direct-axis reference current and the direct-axis motor current to generate a direct-axis error value based on a difference between the direct-axis reference current and the direct-axis motor current. The current controller includes a voltage regulator configured to regulate a DQ voltage vector comprising a direct-axis motor voltage and a quadrature-axis motor voltage, wherein the voltage regulator generates the direct-axis motor voltage based on the direct-axis error value and a voltage vector limiting function to drive the direct-axis motor current to zero.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Austria AG
    Inventor: Brendan Aengus Murray
  • Patent number: 11539322
    Abstract: An electric motor system implements a redundant wye-wounded motor that includes first phase leads, second phase leads, first neutral leads, and second neutral leads. The first and second phase leads receive alternating current (AC) power from a power supply. A first phase-lead switch selectively connects the first phase leads to the power supply, and a second phase-lead switch selectively connects the second phase leads to the power supply. A first neutral-lead switch selectively connects the first neutral leads to the redundant wye-wounded motor, and a second neutral-lead switch selectively connects the second neutral leads to the redundant wye-wounded motor. A controller detects a circuit fault among a plurality of different types of circuit faults, and controls the operation of one or both of the primary neutral-lead switch and the second neutral-lead switch based on the circuit fault.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND CORPORATION
    Inventors: Joseph Kenneth Coldwate, Andreas C. Koenig
  • Patent number: 11539318
    Abstract: A method determines a correction value for a control device for an electric machine, which describes an angular difference between a position of a d-axis of the electric machine and an actual position of the d-axis. The correction value is determined in a rotating state of a rotor of the electric machine as a function of a d voltage value describing a d component of a stator voltage specified by the control device in the initial configuration, of a q voltage value describing a q component of the stator voltage specified by the control device in the initial configuration, of a flux value describing a magnetic flux of the rotor, a speed value describing the speed of the rotor in the rotating state, and of a calibration value describing a speed-dependent voltage error of the d component of the stator voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: VALEO SIEMENS EAUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventors: Markus Seilmeier, Andreas Held, Andreas Walter, Hans-Georg Köpken
  • Patent number: 11529993
    Abstract: To provide a motor controller and an electric power steering apparatus which can suppress torque fluctuation resulting from low detection resolution of angle, with simple calculation, even in condition where the rotational speed of motor is low. A motor controller estimates an angle error correlation value correlated with the angle detection error based on the current command value when a change frequency of the angle detection value is lower than a cutoff frequency of feedback control system which controls a rotation state; corrects the current command value or the angle detection value based on the estimation value of angle error correlation value; and changes the estimation value of angle error correlation value so that the absolute value of angle detection error increases with respect to increase in the current command value, and the absolute value of angle detection error decreases with respect to decrease in the current command value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kenta Tanaka, Isao Kezobo, Akira Furukawa, Seiji Sawada
  • Patent number: 11531047
    Abstract: A current measuring system (10) for a commutated motor (20). The current measuring system comprises a bridge circuit (30) with several branches (30a-c), wherein the branches (30a-c) are in each case connected to commutation blocks of the commutated motor (20), and the branches (30a-c) each have a current measuring circuit (60a-c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: TDK—Micronas GmbH
    Inventor: Adriano de Rosa
  • Patent number: 11533008
    Abstract: Provided is a method for determining the rotational position of a rotor in a permanent magnet synchronous machine, wherein the stator includes windings for a first, second and third phase, including the steps: applying a first voltage pulse to the first phase, determining respective first measures for the current induced by the first voltage pulse in the second and third phase, selecting a first selected phase depending on the first measures for the current, wherein the first selected phase is either the second or the third phase, applying a second voltage pulse to the first selected phase, determining respective second measures for the current induced by the second voltage pulse in the phases of the stator that are not the first selected phase, and determining the rotational position of the rotor depending on the second measures of the current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: SIEMENS GAMESA RENEWABLE ENERGY A/S
    Inventors: Ximeng Wu, Zhan-Yuan Wu, Zi-Qiang Zhu
  • Patent number: 11533016
    Abstract: A control unit determines a presence or absence of a short-circuit failure with respect to a target switch which is a phase-opening switch to be determined. At this time, after opening all the phase opening switches, the control unit drives an inverter to connect a power supply line provided with the target switch among the phase opening switches to ground. The control unit determines that the target switch has a short-circuit failure when a voltage of the power supply line in which the target switch is not provided is smaller than a predetermined voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Haruo Suzuki, Takashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 11527986
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a servo motor being configured to drive a traveling part for transferring an object along a traveling rail, a servo driver being configured to control an operation of the servo motor with adjusting a torque of the servo motor according to a load level, an overload determination unit being configured to check a degree of overload of the servo driver and a motion controller being configured to generate a speed signal and a speed profile according to a transfer command which a control unit of controlling an operation of the traveling part transmits thereto, the motion controller generating either a normal speed profile when the servo driver is not at an overload state or a corrected speed profile when the servo driver is at the overload state, and transmitting the speed signal and the speed profile to the servo driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: SEMES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Beom Lee, Yeong Jae Choi
  • Patent number: 11527987
    Abstract: Provided is an abnormality diagnosis device including: a physical quantity measurement processor configured to acquire, as time-series data, a physical quantity of an electric motor or a load; a feature parameter calculation processor configured to calculate feature parameters; a correlation function creation processor configured to create a correlation function for two or more feature parameters, and calculate a correlation coefficient corresponding to a measurement result of the physical quantity that changes depending on an abnormality occurrence state; a database configured to store in advance reference data in which a remaining time until a failure is caused and the correlation coefficient are associated with each other; and a diagnosis processor configured to extract from the reference data the remaining time corresponding to the correlation coefficient, and identify the remaining time until the electric motor or the load causes a failure or a part that has caused a failure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Inoue, Makoto Kanemaru, Junji Hori, Tomoaki Takewa, Takuma Sasai
  • Patent number: 11515813
    Abstract: According to one or more embodiments, a motor control system that provides torque ripple compensation includes a current regulator that receives a first current command corresponding to an input torque command. The current regulator further generates a first voltage command based on the first current command using a first transformation matrix. The current regulator further receives a second current command corresponding to a torque ripple to be compensated. The current regulator further generates a second voltage command based on the second current command using a second transformation matrix. The current regulator further computes a final voltage command using the first voltage command and the second current command, the final voltage command being applied to a motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation
    Inventors: Prerit Pramod, Julie A. Kleinau