Patents Examined by Cortez M Cook
  • Patent number: 11616465
    Abstract: An electronic data processor comprises a data storage device in communication with the electronic data processor. A control module stored in the data storage device, the control module comprising software instructions for execution by the electronic data processor to change dynamically the fundamental switching frequency of the control signals to reduce electromagnetic noise within a target frequency band if the fundamental switching frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold fundamental switching frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Deere & Company
    Inventors: Brian J. Booth, Long Wu, Dan Li, Roger K. Amundson, Zack M. Day
  • Patent number: 11603927
    Abstract: A shift range control apparatus controls a shift range switching system that switches shift ranges by controlling driving of a motor. This control apparatus calculates a motor angle based on a motor rotation angle signal, acquires an output shaft signal based on a rotation position of an output shaft from an output shaft sensor, sets a target rotation angle based on a target shift range and the output shaft signal, and controls driving of the motor such that the motor angle becomes the target rotation angle. The control apparatus sets the target rotation angle to a target limit value, in response to the target rotation angle that is set based on the output shaft signal being a value at which rotation occurs that is further toward a back side in a rotation direction than the target limit value that is set based on shift ranges before and after switching.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignees: DENSO CORPORATION, HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Koji Sakaguchi, Masahiko Akiyama, Masashi Misawa, Kenshi Masuo
  • Patent number: 11601035
    Abstract: A motor current controlling circuit having a voltage detection mechanism is provided. A first terminal of a first low-side transistor is connected to a second terminal of a first high-side transistor. A node between the first terminal of the first low-side transistor and the second terminal of the first high-side transistor is connected to a first terminal of a motor. A first terminal of a second low-side transistor is connected to a second terminal of a second high-side transistor. A zero current detector circuit detects a voltage of the node and determines whether or not a current flowing through the motor is equal to a zero value to output a zero current detected signal according to the detected voltage. A controller circuit controls a driver circuit to turn on or off the high-side transistors and the low-side transistors according to the zero current detected signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: ANPEC ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Kun-Min Chen
  • Patent number: 11588426
    Abstract: An apparatus for driving a motor includes motor circuitry and neural network circuitry. The motor circuitry is configured to generate, based on an error compensated rotor angle and current at a plurality of phases of the motor, a d-axis instant current value and generate a d-axis instant voltage value based on the d-axis instant current value. The motor circuitry is further configured to generate voltage at the plurality of phases based on the d-axis instant voltage value. The neural network circuitry is configured to generate a rotor angle offset based on an instant rotor speed at the motor. The neural network circuitry has been trained to generate the rotor angle offset to minimize the d-axis instant voltage value for each of a plurality of rotor speeds at the motor. The error compensated rotor angle is based on the rotor angle offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Christopher Roemmelmayer, Radovan Vuletic
  • Patent number: 11581837
    Abstract: The object of the invention is a method of controlling a permanent-magnet synchronous or synchro-reluctant three-phase rotary machine (4), comprising the following steps: measuring a current (iA, iB, iC) flowing through each phase of a stator of rotary machine (4); first calculating, by use of a single proportional-integral controller, a switching control signal for controlling an inverter (10), according to each measured current (iA, iB, iC), and of a target value (Tref) of a mechanical torque provided by the rotary machine (4) or of a target value of an angular speed of a rotor of rotary machine (4) in relation to the stator wherein the inverter (10) is configured to convey electrical energy between a continuous electrical energy source (8) and each phase of the stator of rotary machine (4); and controlling the inverter (10) by use of the calculated switching control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: IFP ENERGIES NOUVELLES
    Inventors: Emmanuel Kuentzmann, Fabien Vidal-Naquet, Wissam Dib
  • Patent number: 11579198
    Abstract: An inverter system includes a converter, an inverter, a first switch SW1 that connects between the converter and an AC power source, a capacitor that smooths a DC power in a DC bus, a resistor Rr connected from a positive voltage side of the DC bus to ground, a second switch SW2 that connects between the resistor Rr and ground, and a controller that controls drive of the inverter system. The controller is configured to: after charging the capacitor, while the first switch SW1 is in an OFF state, turn on the second switch SW2 and obtain a first across voltage ER1 of the resistor Rx; turn on an element, among semiconductor elements of the inverter, that is connected to the negative voltage side of the DC bus, and then obtain a second across voltage ER2 of the resistor Rx; and inspect insulation resistance of a motor based on the across voltages ER1, ER2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: OKUMA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Motozumi Yura
  • Patent number: 11569775
    Abstract: A motor control system for selectively controlling power from a power source to a load includes a PCB structure and a power converter affixed to the PCB structure that is operable to provide a controlled output power to the load. The motor control system also includes a standalone protection and control module mounted onto the at least one PCB structure so as to be electrically coupled therewith, the standalone protection and control module further including a front-end switching unit comprising a plurality of switching devices operable to selectively interrupt and control power flow from the power source to the power converter and to a bypass path that bypasses the power converter and a back-end switching unit positioned downstream from the front-end switching unit and comprising a plurality of switching devices operable to selectively interrupt power flow from the power converter and the bypass path to the load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
    Inventors: Kaijam M. Woodley, Joseph Paul Uphaus, Tua Xiong, Andrew D. Delimat
  • Patent number: 11569711
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to mechanical braking mechanisms used in electric motor applications. The present braking mechanisms may be configured as non-back-drivable mechanical brakes and provide immediate braking of the motors. According to one embodiment, a mechanical brake assembly for an electric motor may include a female disk including a groove and an abutment and a male disk including a projection, the male disk being in mechanical communication with a rotor of the electric motor. When the electric motor is energized, the projection of the male disk is configured to rotate with the rotation of the rotor of the electric motor, but when the electric motor is de-energized, the projection of the male disk is configured to travel within the groove of the female disk and abut the abutment of the female disk, thereby reducing the rotation of the rotor of the electric motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: MOLON MOTOR AND COIL CORPORATION
    Inventor: Emilio A. Ramirez, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11552582
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification can be embodied in, among other things, an electric actuator driver that includes a first input port configured to receive an analog electrical servo control signal, a second input port configured to receive a position feedback signal, a first output port, a second output port, and a conversion circuit configured to determine one or more electric motor coil control current levels based on the analog electrical servo control signal and the position feedback signal, provide the one or more electric motor coil control currents based on the determined electric motor coil control current levels at the first output port, determine a feedback signal based on the analog electrical servo control signal, and provide the determined feedback signal at the second output port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Woodward, Inc.
    Inventor: Gregory A. Molenaar
  • Patent number: 11552587
    Abstract: A method for moving a rotor in a planar drive system having a first and second stator modules and a rotor. The stator modules are arranged at a distance, forming a gap. First and second magnetic fields are generated by the first and stator modules. The first and second magnetic fields hold the rotor in a vertical position, at a distance from a surface of the first and/or second stator module. The first and/or second magnetic fields have a first magnetic field strength to maintain the rotor in the vertical position, and may be used to change a horizontal position of the rotor. The first stator module has a first close range adjacent the gap, where the first magnetic field has a second field strength when the rotor is moved across the gap, greater than the first magnetic field strength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: BECKHOFF AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventor: Uwe Prüssmeier
  • Patent number: 11553617
    Abstract: A power convertor has a casing and a power conversion circuit arranged in an internal chamber of the casing. The casing has a first wall member as a specific side wall. A plurality of connector opening parts are formed in the first wall member. At least two of the plurality of connector opening parts formed in the first wall member are arranged at different positions facing a different direction from each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Kosaka, Keisuke Yuki
  • Patent number: 11545919
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a driving circuit of a fan motor to shorten a start time. The driving circuit drives the fan motor with a sensor. A control logic circuit controls an inverter circuit connected to the fan motor according to a Hall signal that indicates a position of a rotor of the fan motor. When the driving circuit is given an instruction to start a rotation, if the fan motor rotates at a speed lower than a predetermined rotational speed, the drive circuit starts the fan motor by sequentially switching between a second state in which the rotor is fixed at an initial position, a third state in which the fan motor is forcibly and synchronously started, and a fourth state in which the fan motor is Hall-driven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: ROHM CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Mitsuho Ono, Tsubasa Sakurai
  • Patent number: 11537118
    Abstract: The design of a novel digital controller for a motor driven aircraft arrestment system of the type used on aircraft carriers is described. The unique control and feedback design of the described controller has many advanced features, which provide many advantages over existing designs for controlling advanced arresting gear systems. Gain scheduling in engage/arrest controllers can be done based on estimated parameters such as speed, effective skew angle, and faults to allow optimized engage/arrest controllers, where the gain scheduling can be defined, discretely, for each “bin” as defined for a range of threshold values, or it can be defined, continuously, using interpolation and/or functions of speed and effective skew. Particularly, controller design gain values Kci and Kfi are picked to shape control loop transfer functions and dampen resonances in the aircraft arrestment system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2022
    Assignee: Electro Standards Laboratories
    Inventors: Raymond B Sepe, Jr., Yacine Boudria, Steven Bastien
  • Patent number: 11533009
    Abstract: A motor control device includes a current acquisition unit that acquires a limit current allowed to flow from a battery to a brushless motor, a voltage acquisition unit that acquires a power supply voltage applied from the battery to the brushless motor, and a command current determination unit that determines a d-axis command current and a q-axis command current. The command current determination unit determines the d-axis command current and the q-axis command current based on a power limit circle which is a current characteristic on a d-axis and a q-axis based on an inner product of a voltage vector and a current vector and a voltage limit circle which is a current characteristic on the d-axis and the q-axis based on the power supply voltage and an angular velocity of the brushless motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: ADVICS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Atsushi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 11522475
    Abstract: A motor driving device controls a three-phase motor and a single-phase motor to operate in parallel. The motor driving device includes a dc terminal in which an upper and a lower DC-link capacitor are located. The motor driving device also includes a neutral terminal disposed between the upper and lower DC-link capacitors. The motor driving device includes an inverter that includes three pairs of upper switching elements and lower switching elements. Two pairs of upper switching elements and lower switching elements among three pairs are connected to an a-phase terminal and a b-phase terminal of the three-phase motor, respectively. The other pair of upper switching elements and lower switching elements among three pairs is connected to a first terminal of the single-phase motor. The neutral terminal is connected to a second terminal of the single-phase motor. A c-phase terminal of the three-phase motor is connected to the single-phase motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Sunku Kwon, Chaseung Jun
  • Patent number: 11522477
    Abstract: A contactless power supply and motor control system includes a pulse width modulator, a rotary transformer, a demodulator circuit, a motor driver, and a motor. The pulse width modulator supplies a first pulse width modulated (PWM) signal that has a duty cycle and a first amplitude. The rotary transformer receives the PWM signal. The secondary winding is rotatable relative to the primary winding and supplies a second PWM signal having the duty cycle and a second amplitude. The demodulator circuit is rotatable with the secondary winding and supplies a demodulated direct current (DC) voltage having a DC voltage amplitude. The motor driver is rotatable with the secondary winding and the demodulator circuit and controllably supplies motor current. The motor receives the motor current and rotates at a rotational speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC.
    Inventors: Jakub Chmelar, Jan Scheirich, Martin Vagner, Stanislav Hasik
  • Patent number: 11522432
    Abstract: An embodiment of a linear electric machine includes two or more phases that define a central bore, and alternating permanent magnets that are disposed within the central bore and are free to move relative the windings. An embodiment of a method for selectively powering the windings is disclosed that enables the machine to realize a commanded force, or to determine the force present by using the current within the windings and the alignment of the magnets relative to the windings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: IRIS DYNAMICS LTD
    Inventors: Kyle A. Hagen, Patrick A. McFadden, Maximilien F. Bethune-Waddell, Jeffrey R. Rendell
  • Patent number: 11515814
    Abstract: To provide a motor drive control device capable of determining the rotational direction of a motor using a simple configuration with a reduced number of lead wires from position sensors, and a method for controlling the motor drive control device. A control circuit unit of a motor drive control device includes a first comparator configured to compare the magnitudes of a first positive Hall signal and a first negative Hall signal output from a first Hall element, thereby generating a first position detection signal; a second comparator configured to compare the magnitudes of a second negative Hall signal output from a second Hall element and the first negative Hall signal, thereby generating a second position detection signal; and a rotational direction determination unit configured to compare the transitions of the first position detection signal and the second position detection signal, thereby determining the rotational direction of a motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: MINEBEA MITSUMI Inc.
    Inventors: Masato Aoki, Takahiro Suzuki, Tomotaka Sakuma
  • Patent number: 11509248
    Abstract: A position estimation device acquires detection values of magnetic field strength at three or more locations of a rotor in a range where a rotor angle is less than one rotation. A section is selected based on a detection value of the magnetic field strength from predetermined sections for a pole pair number of the rotor. A feature amount calculator is provided to calculate feature amounts of a waveform of the magnetic field strength based on a combination of the detection values of the magnetic field strength according to the section selected. An estimator is provided to determine, for each segment associated with the section selected, whether or not a magnitude relationship of the feature amounts learned in advance coincides with a magnitude relationship of the feature amounts calculated, and estimating, as a rotation position of the rotor, the pole pair number associated with the segment having the same magnitude relationship.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: NIDEC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shota Ishigami, Atsushi Fujita, Tomohisa Tokunaga
  • Patent number: 11509250
    Abstract: A control device controls a motor which includes a first stator coil and a second stator coil insulated from each other. The control device includes: a first drive circuit that is connected to the first stator coil; a second drive circuit that is connected to the second stator coil; a first processing circuit; and a second processing circuit. The first processing circuit increases an output of an integral element according to the number of control systems when the second processing circuit performs a process of switching a first use and operation process to a second use and operation process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignees: JTEKT CORPORATION, TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shingo Nitta, Takahiro Toko, Takahiro Kojo, Hisaya Akatsuka