Patents Examined by Jorge L Carrasquillo
  • Patent number: 10782652
    Abstract: A control device for controlling an electric motor, the device comprising an inverter and a control module implementing a current servo-control loop for the electric motor; an excitation module producing an excitation signal; a synchro-transmitter comprising two coupling windings, an excitation winding constrained to rotate with a rotor of the electric motor, and three measurement windings, the excitation signal being applied to the excitation winding via the two coupling windings; three first synchronous demodulators, each connected to a respective one of the three measurement windings of the synchro-transmitter and to the excitation signal I, and each generating a current setpoint for the current servo-control loop for use by the control module; and three other synchronous demodulators, each connected to a respective one of the three measurement windings of the synchro-transmitter and to the excitation signal Q, and generating a signal providing information about the angular speed of the rotor of the motor
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE
    Inventors: François Guillot, Jerôme Piaton
  • Patent number: 10770998
    Abstract: A control apparatus for is a rotating electric machine applied to a control system including a power conversion circuit, a rotating electric machine, and a capacitor. The control apparatus selects two types of active voltage vectors that sandwich a command voltage vector that is applied to a rotating electric machine from a power conversion circuit and have a phase difference of 60 degrees therebetween. The control apparatus selects, of two types of active voltage vectors that sandwich the command voltage vector and have a phase difference of 120 degrees therebetween, one of two types of active voltage vectors that differs from the two types of active voltage vectors selected earlier, based on a driving state of the rotating electric machine. The control apparatus controls the power conversion apparatus to perform switching operations to control the rotating electric machine, based on the selected three types of active voltage vectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yasuaki Aoki, Shinji Makita
  • Patent number: 10768237
    Abstract: A motor driving device includes: a converter unit having a capacitor; a plurality of inverter units having a plurality of semiconductor switching elements and configured to convert a capacitor voltage across the capacitor into an AC voltage to drive a plurality of motors; a second switch configured to connect the negative-side terminal of the capacitor to ground; a first detector configured to detect a ground-referenced voltage; and a second detector configured to detect the capacitor voltage. The motor driving device controls the semiconductor switching elements to establish a measurement state for enabling measuring of the insulation resistance of a measurement target motor, estimates a convergence value of the ground-referenced voltage based on multiple measurements of the ground-referenced voltage detected by the first detector, and then calculates the insulation resistance based on the estimated convergence value and the capacitor voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Norihiro Chou, Youichirou Ooi
  • Patent number: 10768239
    Abstract: Various embodiments may include a battery system comprising: a battery cell; and a voltage balancing circuit for balancing a voltage at the battery cell. The voltage balancing circuit includes: a balancing current path electrically connected between a positive power connection terminal and a negative power connection terminal of the battery cell, two resistors, and a controllable balancing switch connected in series with the two resistors; and a measuring arrangement electrically connected on a signal-input side to an electrical connecting point between the two resistors and configured to detect a first voltage potential at the electrical connecting point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
    Inventor: Magnus Jaster
  • Patent number: 10766437
    Abstract: Systems, components, and methodologies are provided for improvements in operation of automotive vehicles by enabling monitoring analysis and reaction to subtle sources of information that aid in prediction and response of vehicle control systems across a range of automation levels. Such systems, components, and methodologies include wheel-turn detection equipment for detecting a wheel angle of another vehicle to trigger a vehicle control system to perform an operation based on the detected wheel angle of the other vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignees: Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, Porsche AG
    Inventors: Mirko Herrmann, Angela-Kristina Speidel
  • Patent number: 10756654
    Abstract: A method and a device for bringing a textile machine to a controlled standstill in the event of a failure of the power supply, and a correspondingly equipped textile machine, the textile machine having at least two axes that are driven in synchronization by respective electric motors (M1-M5) connected to a common intermediate voltage circuit (1), and in which at least one electric motor acting as power generator can supply electric power to at least one other electric motor via the common DC bus (1), and in which the voltage (V) on the common DC bus is controlled by varying at least two variables in such a way that the voltage follows a previously defined curve while the textile machine is being brought to a standstill.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: NV MICHEL VAN DE WIELE
    Inventors: Geert Debuf, Wim Lassuyt
  • Patent number: 10746186
    Abstract: An apparatus includes a blower drive and a protection circuit. The blower drive includes a processor and a capacitor. The capacitor is electrically coupled to the processor and provides electrical power to the processor during a short circuit in the blower drive. The protection circuit is electrically coupled to the blower drive and includes a first switch, a positive temperature coefficient resistor, and a second switch. The positive temperature coefficient resistor is electrically coupled in series to the first switch. The second switch is electrically coupled in parallel to the positive temperature coefficient resistor and opens during the short circuit in the blower drive. The first switch opens after the second switch opens and after a short circuit current is below a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Lennox Industries Inc.
    Inventors: Palanivel Subramaniam, Austin Clay Styer
  • Patent number: 10742144
    Abstract: An apparatus for controlling a fluid pump for a motor vehicle includes: a first controller configured to actuate an electric prime mover of the fluid pump by impressing at least one motor current with an adapted current intensity and an adapted waveform; and a second controller configured to detect a rotational speed of the electric prime mover and to apply an adapted voltage to the electric prime mover on the basis of the detected rotational speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Rolf Graf, Klaus Kronenberg
  • Patent number: 10734926
    Abstract: A multi-axis motor control system includes a host control apparatus, motors, motor control apparatuses that drives the motors and each includes circuitry that acquires control related information transmitted and received between the host control apparatus and at least one other motor control apparatus, and controls a corresponding motor of the motors based on the control related information, and a communication channel that connects the host control apparatus and the motor control apparatuses in series.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
    Inventors: Yusuke Oka, Hiroki Inoue, Tadashi Okubo
  • Patent number: 10730406
    Abstract: An electronic control system for vehicle seatbacks is provided. The electronic control system can detect an obstruction or a motor stall by comparing the energy consumed by a seatback motor with an obstruction threshold and a stall threshold, the threshold being selected based upon the position of the seatback. The electronic control system can additionally control the synchronous folding of two or more adjacent powered seatbacks. The electronic control system causes the motor for the lagging seatback to receive a maximum driving voltage and causes the motor for the leading seatback to receive a partial driving voltage. Once the seatbacks are in alignment, a normal driving voltage is provided to both motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA
    Inventor: Mark A. Enderich
  • Patent number: 10734912
    Abstract: A linear motor comprises a stator, the stator comprising multiple drive coils and an intermediate circuit electrically conductively connected to each drive coil, the intermediate circuit being configured to exchange energy with each drive coil. The drive coils are arranged along the running rail, where at least one slide comprising a magnet acting as a rotor of the linear motor is movably arranged on the running rail. A controller is configured to independently control each drive coil, so that electrical energy is fed from the intermediate circuit into the drive coils, if a measured intermediate circuit voltage is greater or equal to a predetermined intermediate circuit voltage threshold value, where those drive coils are excluded from the feed-in of the electrical energy which are instantaneously being used for driving or braking the at least one slide and/or have a thermal load which exceeds a predetermined thermal load threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2020
    Assignee: Beckhoff Automation GmbH
    Inventors: Tim Kaulmann, Uwe Pruessmeier, Thomas Vorbohle
  • Patent number: 10727761
    Abstract: In a motor drive system with inverter parallel connection, a laying cable impedance is identified by a test pulse, and a cross current suppression control gain is optimized to provide a power conversion apparatus that does not require a coupling reactor. In the motor drive system 1 in which the outputs of A-bank and B-bank inverters 20A and 20B are connected in parallel, a test pulse is outputted from the drive control unit 30 provided with the PWM controller 33 to the A and B bank inverters before operation. The laying cable impedance is identified from the DC voltage Vdc at the time of test pulse output and the response currents IA and IB. An adjustment gain is calculated from the ratio of installed cable impedance to specified cable impedance. Then, the proportional gain KP is multiplied to optimize the adjustment gain, and an on-delay time based on the optimized adjustment gain GL×KP is calculated during operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Chikara Morito, Hiromitsu Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10727774
    Abstract: A multi-level high-speed adjustable speed drive has a plurality of modular multilevel, 3-phase inverter bridges, wherein the multilevel, 3-phase inverter bridges operate with fundamental frequency, f, wherein the multilevel, 3-phase inverter bridges include at least three levels, wherein the multilevel, 3-phase inverter bridges operate in Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) mode with 9 to 21× or operating in Fundamental Frequency Mode (FFM), wherein inverter commutation frequency equals the fundamental frequency, wherein the multilevel, 3-phase inverters operate with split phase such that one group is displaced from the other by an angle, ?=60°/q, wherein the phase displacement of a harmonic component of order n between groups, ?n is n?/q; a high-speed polyphase motor with phases arranged in q 3-phase groups; and electromagnetic means for blocking selected groups of harmonics while passing components at fundamental frequency, f, wherein the electromagnetic means includes coils carrying motor current linked by a magn
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: General Atomics
    Inventor: George Thomas Santamaria
  • Patent number: 10727775
    Abstract: To provide a motor drive device that suppresses voltage fluctuation of a DC link capacitor, as well as enabling for low cost and size reduction. A motor control unit sets a threshold of voltage at which to start regeneration to a first threshold in a case of an increased amount per unit time of a DC voltage value detected by a voltage detection part being less than a certain amount, and sets the threshold of voltage at which to start regeneration to a second threshold that is larger than the first threshold, in a case of the increased amount per unit time of the DC voltage value detected by the voltage detection part being at least a certain amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tomokazu Yoshida, Kiichi Inaba, Shigeki Hanyuu
  • Patent number: 10724615
    Abstract: A control device for a linear actuator comprises a motor coupled to a device for converting a rotational movement into a translational movement configured to move a translationally mobile part. The actuator comprises at least one mechanical stop placed on a fixed part of the actuator, the group of at least one mechanical stop being configured to act as an obstacle to the relative helicoidal movement of a stud of the translationally mobile part when the stud reaches at least one predetermined position, contact of the stud with a stop generating a torque. The control device comprises a control module connected to at least one strain gauge configured to generate a signal indicative of the detected torque, the control module being configured to compare the amplitude of the signal generated by the group of at least one strain gauge against at least one predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Damien Chassoulier, Didier Stanek, Alain-Vincent Blanc
  • Patent number: 10707800
    Abstract: A multi-pulse transformer with multiple taps provides a constant magnitude voltage output to a variable speed chiller's compressor motor over a range of input voltages. The 3-phase transformer includes primary windings and a plurality of secondary windings. The secondary windings are electromagnetically coupled with the associated primary winding. The primary windings include taps for receiving multiple input AC voltages and the secondary windings have a single output terminal for supplying a predetermined output voltage which, after rectification produces a DC multi-pulse waveform for powering a DC link of a variable speed drive. Alternatively the 3-phase transformer includes multiple taps on the secondary windings. Each of the primary windings has a terminal for receiving an input AC voltage. The taps of the secondary windings provide an output voltage that is converted to a multi-pulse waveform for powering a DC link of a variable speed drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Zhiqiao Wu, John C. Hansen
  • Patent number: 10707793
    Abstract: A method for operating a synchronous machine having a rotor, comprising the following features: the synchronous machine is modelled, with respect to the rotor, as a two-phase system with a direct-axis current and a quadrature-axis current, rotor losses of the synchronous machine, which rotor losses occur in the rotor, are numerically described by an evaluation function of the first direct-axis current, of the quadrature-axis current and of a specified rotation speed of the synchronous machine, and, on the basis of the evaluation function, the direct-axis current and the second quadrature-axis current are controlled for the specified rotation speed and a required torque in such a way that the synchronous machine outputs the required torque and the rotor losses are low and a corresponding synchronous machine, a corresponding computer program and a corresponding storage medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Jan Nägelkrämer, Axel Heitmann, Thomas Hubert, Sven Luthardt, Stefan Schmitz
  • Patent number: 10697682
    Abstract: A motor assembly configured to receive an external alternating voltage. The motor assembly includes a motor and a circuit assembly. The motor includes a stator and a rotor rotatable about a longitudinal axis. The circuit assembly includes a state detector and a control unit. The state detector is operable to detect whether an external device is receiving the external alternating voltage The control unit is operable to control the motor based on whether the external device is receiving the external alternating voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Regal Beloit America, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey A. Wilson, Guy Bonner, Vijay Earanky, Marc C. McKinzie
  • Patent number: 10696141
    Abstract: A synchronous motor control device includes: a DC power supply; an inverter main circuit; a three-phase synchronous motor; and an inverter control unit that outputs a PWM signal used to control the inverter main circuit. The inverter control unit includes: a PWM signal generation unit; a start-up control unit that outputs a start-up voltage command value to the PWM signal generation unit at the time of start-up; a steady state control unit that calculates a steady state voltage command value in a steady state and outputs the value to the PWM signal generation unit; and a steady state control parameter initial value calculation unit that outputs an initial value of a control parameter to the steady state control unit such that an output voltage vector from the inverter main circuit to the three-phase synchronous motor is consistent before and after switching from the start-up to the steady state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Mitsuo Kashima, Tomohiro Kutsuki, Tomomi Higashikawa, Akiyoshi Muramatsu
  • Patent number: 10696166
    Abstract: The invention generally relates to a machine with an electric drive and an energy storage system for the intermediate storage of recovered energy. The invention relates in particular to machines that function statically or quasi-statically with a primary electric drive and a secondary hydraulic drive that function in cyclical movements, such as in the form of a material-transferring device like an excavator or crane, having an electric drive with at least one electric motor for driving the drive train of the machine and with an energy storage system for the intermediate storage of reverse power released during towing and/or braking operation and transferred from the drive train to the electric motor. The invention also further relates to a method for operating a machine with an electric drive, in which energy recovered during a towing or braking operation is used to compensate for system losses or is stored temporarily.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2020
    Assignee: Liebherr-Components Bieberach GmbH
    Inventors: Thomas Münst, Daniel Bayer