Patents Examined by Cortez Cook
  • Patent number: 10474122
    Abstract: A machining tool with a numerical control device includes an actual gravity center calculation unit configured to calculate an actual gravity center, the actual gravity center being a whole gravity center of the machining tool and the load, a target gravity center position set unit, a movable part position correction unit configured to correct the relative position of the movable part to the fixed part, to make the target gravity center position and the whole center gravity center position of the machining tool and the load coincident.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuhiro Nakahama
  • Patent number: 10295599
    Abstract: A method in a motor controller for an electric motor is disclosed. The method includes receiving a motor current measurement, a motor reference voltage or measured voltage, and an estimated temperature from the electric motor, determining a reference flux linkage estimate (?pm,ref) from a lookup table based on the motor current measurement and the estimated temperature, determining a back-EMF (electromotive force) estimate based on the motor current measurement, the motor voltage and the estimated temperature, determining an observed flux linkage estimate (?pm,obs) from the back-EMF estimate, determining a magnetic strength as a ratio of the observed flux linkage estimate to the reference flux linkage estimate, and determining that a rotor magnet has been demagnetized to an unacceptable level when the magnetic strength is below a threshold level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
    Inventors: Gilsu Choi, Anno Yoo, Dwarakanath V. Simili
  • Patent number: 10211762
    Abstract: A drive circuit for an electric motor having a wound stator and a permanent magnet rotor, includes a controllable bidirectional AC switch connected in series with a stator winding between two terminals for connecting to an AC power supply. First and second position sensors detect the position of magnetic poles of the rotor. A voltage regulating circuit is connected between the two terminals and the controllable bidirectional AC switch and configured to supply power to the first sensor during the positive cycle and to the second position sensor during the negative cycle of the AC power supply such that the controllable bidirectional AC switch is switched between a conductive state and a non-conductive state in a preset manner, thus enabling the stator to rotate the rotor in only one predetermined direction during start-up.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: JOHNSON ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL AG
    Inventors: Yue Li, Chi Ping Sun, Bao Ting Liu, En Hui Wang, Fei Xin, Shing Hin Yeung, Xiu Wen Yang, Yan Yun Cui, Shu Juan Huang
  • Patent number: 10211772
    Abstract: A method for operating an electric machine with a power source, an electric motor, and an intermediary power converter, in which an input current of the power source is converted to a multi-phase output current for the electric motor by a pulse width modulated control of a number of semiconductor switches of the converter, wherein the or each pulse is generated at a first point in time and terminated after a pulse duration at a second point in time, in which for each alternating current component, which is generated in the course of the pulse-width-modulated driving of the semiconductor switches in an intermediate circuit of the power source, a frequency spectrum is determined, and in which the pulse durations of the pulses of the pulse width modulated control can be set such that the sum of the frequency spectra of the alternating current components is minimal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft, Wuerzburg
    Inventor: Johannes Schwarzkopf
  • Patent number: 10211764
    Abstract: A short-circuit detection circuit is adapted to a full-bridge driver which includes the first and second high-side transistors respectively coupled from a supply voltage to the first and second output nodes and the first and second low-side transistors respectively coupled from the first and second output nodes to a ground. The short-circuit detection circuit includes the first and second voltage dividers respectively receiving voltages of the first and second output nodes to respectively generate the first and second voltages, the high-side and low-side selectors respectively selecting the first voltage and the second voltage to respectively generate a high-side voltage and a low-side voltage, a high-side comparator generating a high-side short-circuit signal when the high-side voltage is lower than a high-side reference voltage, and a low-side comparator generating a low-side short-circuit signal when the low-side voltage exceeds the low-side reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: PRINCETON TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
    Inventor: Wen-Jan Lee
  • Patent number: 10205413
    Abstract: A magnetic sensor integrated circuit, a motor assembly and an application device are provided. The integrated circuit includes a housing, a semiconductor substrate, at least one input port and an output port, and an electronic circuit arranged on the semiconductor substrate. The electronic circuit includes a rectifying circuit, a magnetic field detection circuit configured to detect an external magnetic field and output magnetic field detection information, and an output control circuit connected to the rectifying circuit, and configured to control, at least based on the magnetic field detection information, the integrated circuit to operate in at least one of a first state in which a load current flows from the output port to an outside of the integrated circuit and a second state in which a load current flows from the outside of the integrated circuit to the output port. The load current flows through the rectifying circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: JOHNSON ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL AG
    Inventors: Chi Ping Sun, Fei Xin, Ken Wong, Shing Hin Yeung, Shu Juan Huang, Yun Long Jiang, Yue Li, Bao Ting Liu, En Hui Wang, Xiu Wen Yang, Li Sheng Liu, Yan Yun Cui
  • Patent number: 10205412
    Abstract: A motor driving circuit and a motor component are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: JOHNSON ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL AG
    Inventors: Chi Ping Sun, Shing Hin Yeung, Fei Xin, Xiu Wen Yang, Shu Juan Huang, Yun Long Jiang, Yue Li, Bao Ting Liu, En Hui Wang, Li Sheng Liu, Yan Yun Cui
  • Patent number: 10199965
    Abstract: A magnetic sensor integrated circuit, a motor and an application apparatus. The magnetic sensor includes a magnetic sensor, a signal processing unit, an output control circuit and an output port. The magnetic sensor receives a constant current sense a magnetic polarity of an external magnetic field and output a differential signal. The signal processing unit amplifies the differential signal and eliminates an offset of the differential signal to obtain a magnetic field detection signal. The output control circuit control, at least based on the magnetic field detection signal, the magnetic sensor integrated circuit to operate in at least one a first state in which a current flows from the output port to the outside and a second state in which a current flows from the outside into the output port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: JOHNSON ELECTRIC INTERNATIONAL AG
    Inventors: Guang Jie Cai, Chun Fai Wong, Yue Li, Chi Ping Sun, Bao Ting Liu, En Hui Wang, Fei Xin, Shing Hin Yeung, Xiu Wen Yang, Li Sheng Liu, Yan Yun Cui, Shu Juan Huang
  • Patent number: 10199974
    Abstract: When a motor is started up, an initial position detection circuit detects the initial position of a rotor using an inductive sensing method. An automatic parameter generating circuit determines a parameter to be used by the initial position detection circuit. The automatic parameter generating circuit measures: (i) a first time period ?+ required for a coil current to reach a threshold after a first polarity voltage is applied across an electrode pair of the motor; and (ii) a second time period ?? required for the coil current to reach a threshold after a second polarity voltage is applied across the electrode pair, for each threshold value, while the threshold value used in the measurement is changed. The threshold that provides a maximum difference between the first time period ?+ and the second time period ?? is held as the parameter to be used by the initial position detection circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: ROHM CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Yoshiya, Kyoji Marumoto
  • Patent number: 10199976
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for manipulating the noise and vibration of a switched reluctance machine (SRM). By use of vibration sensors and real-time optimization methods, the noise and vibration profile of an SRM and associated load may be modified to meet one or more control objectives, such as torque ripple mitigation (TRM), harmonic spectrum shaping, and/or efficiency improvement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: Continuous Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Nir Vaks, Nyah Zarate, Xiaoqi Wang
  • Patent number: 10187000
    Abstract: A system or method for a VSD with an active converter including a controller, an inductor, an active converter, a DC link, and an inverter. The active converter is controlled to receive an input AC voltage and output a boosted DC voltage to a DC link, up to 850 VDC, the active converter using only low voltage semiconductor switches to provide the 850 VDC DC link voltage. The controller is configured to operate with a reactive input current magnitude equal to zero at a predetermined system load, and at system loads less than the predetermined system load, to introduce a reactive input current that results in a converter voltage having a magnitude less than the input voltage, wherein the vector sum of the input voltage and an inductor voltage is equal to the converter voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Konstantin Borisov, Ivan Jadric
  • Patent number: 10148203
    Abstract: A motor driving apparatus of the present invention includes a converter unit configured to convert an AC voltage into a DC voltage, a DC link unit configured to smooth the DC voltage by a capacitor to generate a DC link voltage, an inverter unit configured to convert the DC link voltage into a multiphase AC voltage for motor driving, short bars configured to electrically interconnect terminals of the DC link unit and terminals of the inverter unit, and a DC link voltage detection unit configured to detect the DC link voltage. At least parts of the short bars are located between the terminals of the DC link unit and terminals of the DC link voltage detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuyuki Matsumoto
  • Patent number: 10135371
    Abstract: A door opening/closing device includes: a motor; and a control unit that is configured to control a rotation rate of the motor by pulse-width modulation (PWM) control. The door opening/closing device opens and closes a door of a vehicle with power of the motor. The control unit is configured to perform the PWM control on the motor at a PWM frequency set so as to deviate from a resonance point of an installation body on which the motor is installed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Mitsui Kinzoku Act Corporation
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Watanabe, Ayahito Kojima
  • Patent number: 10135367
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, a current control assembly that includes an electrical current flow path having a maximum current flow rate, a first current limiter in the electrical current flow path, the first current limiter comprising circuitry configured to adjustably restrict current flow along the electrical current flow path to a flow rate less than the maximum current flow rate in response to receipt of a first signal at a first input port, and a second current limiter in the electrical current flow path, the second current limiter arranged to interrupt the electrical current flow path in response to receipt of a second signal at a second input port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventors: David L. Ried, Dustin Kramer, Dan Gotko, Charles M. Brunswig, Greg Opper
  • Patent number: 10128779
    Abstract: Method and system for protecting induction motors from stalled start conditions provide a motor overload protection device that includes a stalled start detector capable of differentiating long start from stalled start conditions. This helps the motor overload protection device identify a stalled start condition right away and trip immediately rather than allowing the motor to continue drawing locked rotor current for the duration of the startup interval. Such a motor overload protection device may be used with any suitable multiphase induction motors, including two-phase motors, three phase motors, and the like. And because only the motor phase currents are used to detect the stalled start condition, the motor overload protection device disclosed herein does not require voltage phase shift information and/or motor speed measurements, thereby simplifying overall management of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc.
    Inventors: Benjamin W. Edwards, Kevin M. Jeffries, Richard K. Weiler
  • Patent number: 10126734
    Abstract: A servo control apparatus which includes: a difference calculation unit that calculates difference between an integral value of speed deviation of a master axis and an integral value of speed deviation of a slave axis; a filter unit that performs filtering of the difference by way of a low-pass filter; and an addition unit that adds a result of the filtering to the integral value of the speed deviation of the slave axis, in which a current command for driving the master-axis motor is calculated for the master axis by using the integral value of the speed deviation of the master axis; and a current command for driving the slave-axis motor is calculated for the slave axis by using an integral value after addition by way of the addition unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Naoto Sonoda
  • Patent number: 10128787
    Abstract: In some examples, a controller device is configured to generate control signals for a power-conversion circuit that drives an electric motor including a rotor. In some examples, the controller device includes subtraction circuitry configured to generate an error signal based on a difference between an estimated angular velocity of the rotor and a target angular velocity for the rotor. In some examples, the controller device further includes proportional-integral (PI) circuitry configured to generate a reference torque signal based on the error signal. In some examples, the controller device also includes processing circuitry configured to determine that the rotor is locked based on detecting that the reference torque signal includes a saturated amplitude for at least a threshold time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies Americas Corp.
    Inventor: Wei Wu
  • Patent number: 10114390
    Abstract: A fan control system, a computer system, and a fan controlling method thereof are disclosed. The fan control system is used in the computer system for controlling a fan device. The fan controlling method includes the following steps: obtaining a temperature value of the computer system; determining whether the temperature value of the computer system is larger than or equal to a predetermined temperature value; if yes, controlling a rotation speed of the fan device according to the temperature value; if no, further obtaining a current value via a heat generating electronic component of the computer system; determining whether the current value of the computer system is larger than or equal to a predetermined current value; and if yes, changing the rotation speed of the fan device according to a variation of the current value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2018
    Assignee: WISTRON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Po-Chuan Chen, Shih-Huai Cho
  • Patent number: 10110153
    Abstract: An electronic control unit switches a switching circuit such that a switched reluctance motor has a first winding pattern, when, with respect to a boundary dividing a driving range of the switched reluctance motor into two ranges, a torque and a rotational speed of the switched reluctance motor that are determined according to an applied voltage are located in the first range on the low load side. The electronic control unit switches the switching circuit such that the switched reluctance motor has a second winding pattern, when the torque and the rotational speed of the switched reluctance motor are located in a second range different from the first range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Junichi Deguchi, Makoto Funahashi, Kensuke Yoshizue
  • Patent number: 10103662
    Abstract: A method for operating an electric machine having a power inverter, which is electrically connected to a relative ground potential, and a ground differential voltage between the relative ground potential and a reference ground potential is monitored, and if the ground differential voltage reaches an upper limit value, the electric machine is operated in a current-delivering operating state, and if the ground differential voltage reaches a lower limit value, the electric machine is operated in a non-current-delivering operating state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignees: ROBERT BOSCH GMBH, SEG AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventor: Marc Eschenhagen