Patents Examined by Paul Ip
  • Patent number: 9048777
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an integrated circuit (IC) adapted to be powered by a positive supply voltage. The IC includes a charge pump that is adapted to convert the positive supply voltage of the IC to a negative bias voltage. The IC further includes a bidirectional interface circuit. The bidirectional interface circuit includes an amplifier coupled to the negative bias voltage to accommodate a bidirectional input voltage of the IC. The bidirectional interface circuit further includes a comparator coupled to the negative bias voltage to accommodate the bidirectional input voltage of the IC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2015
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventor: Axel Thomsen
  • Patent number: 9041335
    Abstract: A driver circuit for driving an electrical load includes an input terminal pole connecting the driver circuit to an AC voltage source, an output terminal pole connecting the driver circuit to the load, a rectifier circuit connected to the input terminal pole for converting an AC voltage into a pulsating DC voltage, and a control element connected to the rectifier circuit and to the output terminal pole. The control element has a switch and a controller, the controller switching the switch on and off by means of a pulse train signal, wherein an electrical output value of the driver circuit is adjustable by switching the switch. The controller is configured to vary at least one time-based value of the pulse train signal within one period of the pulsating DC voltage such that a driver current is adjusted at the output terminal pole having a defined waveform within the period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2015
    Assignee: C. & E. FEIN GMBH
    Inventors: Martin Beichter, Mark Heilig, Ulf Rinckleb, Heinrich Steinhart
  • Patent number: 9035585
    Abstract: A motor-drive circuit includes a detection circuit to detect a reverse current to flow in a direction from a first sink-side transistor to a second source-side transistor or in a direction from a second sink-side transistor to a first source-side transistor, a disable circuit to disable a detection output of the detection circuit during a predetermined time period from a start of detection of the reverse current performed by the detection circuit, a first inhibit circuit to inhibit synchronous rectification according to a detection output of the detection circuit when the predetermined time period has elapsed from a start of detection of the reverse current performed by the detection circuit, and a second inhibit circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Takamori, Masashi Muragi
  • Patent number: 9035591
    Abstract: Disclosed is a control method of an electronic parking brake system, which variably controls the duty of voltage applied to a motor upon release of the electronic parking brake system. The control method includes controlling voltage applied to a motor to a first duty ratio upon release of the electronic parking brake system, controlling the voltage applied to the motor to a second duty ratio greater than the first duty ratio if locking of the motor occurs and the motor is not operated, and controlling the voltage applied to the motor to the first duty ratio if locking of the motor is released and the motor begins to operate, after the control of voltage to the second duty ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2015
    Assignee: Mando Corporation
    Inventor: Gyung Hun Sim
  • Patent number: 9030150
    Abstract: A method and circuit arrangement for controlling the motor current in an electric motor, in particular a stepper motor, by a chopper method is provided. In the method/circuit arrangement, the motor is operated with a coil current that follows a target coil current substantially more accurately at least at the zero crossing of the coil current. The method/circuit arrangement provides a good symmetry of the sinusoidal wave shape of the coil current with respect to the zero crossing of the coil current. The method is achieved in particular by the active control of the coil current both in the direction of a predefined target coil current and opposite the direction of the predefined target coil current with respect to upper or lower desired current values and a lowering or increasing of the upper or lower desired current values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Trinamic Motion Control GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Bernhard Dwersteg
  • Patent number: 9031390
    Abstract: A wiper device that includes: a wiper motor that swings a wiper blade that is coupled to the wiper motor through a wiper arm to-and-fro over a window pane between an upper return position and a lower return position; and a drive component that gradually increases power supplied to the wiper motor until the rotation speed of the wiper motor reaches a specific speed when the wiper motor has been restarted from a stationary state of the wiper blade between the upper return position and the lower return position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: ASMO Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takashi Natsume
  • Patent number: 9030146
    Abstract: A digital filter is configured to convert, into a digital value, the duty ratio of a control signal subjected to pulse width modulation according to a target toque to be set for a fan motor to be driven. A sampling circuit is configured to perform sampling of the output value of the digital filter at a sampling timing that is asynchronous with respect to the cycle of the control signal, so as to generate a torque instruction value. A driving circuit is configured to drive the fan motor according to the torque instruction value thus generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2015
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiya Suzuki, Shinsuke Sano
  • Patent number: 9024561
    Abstract: The system and method disclose for the controlling of motor switching. The system includes a controller unit having a control signal generator, a memory device, a processing unit, a signal acquisition device, and an analog-to-digital converter. A power stage has a plurality of switches and receives a control signal from the control signal generator and a power signal from a power source. The power stage drives two windings of the set of three stator windings with a multi-state pulse and leaves one stator of the three stator windings undriven. The processing unit acquires a demodulated measured voltage on the undriven winding. The processing unit communicates with the power stage to change which two windings of the three stator windings are driven when the demodulated measured voltage surpasses a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Cirrus Logics, Inc.
    Inventors: Jason William Lawrence, Marc John Kobayashi, John L. Melanson, Miroslav Olijaca
  • Patent number: 9024547
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods for reducing unwanted conducted noise generated by a DC load 17. Load 17 is powered by a voltage source 11. A current sense 13 senses pulse current Ifan flowing through the load 17. First converting means 14, 15, 16 converts the sensed pulse current Ifan to a correction voltage Vp. The correction voltage Vp is then converted to a correction current Ip, which offsets the deleterious effects of Ifan. The current Is flowing through the voltage source 11 equals Ifan plus the correction current Ip.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Allied Telesis, Inc.
    Inventor: Randall Vogt
  • Patent number: 9024556
    Abstract: In an electrical machine which has time-varying or position-varying disturbances in its output, signals representing the position and values of machine-related parameters are used to solve a model of the machine to calculate the phase currents which are required to minimize the disturbances. The model is able to provide solutions in the presence of limitations of some of the operating conditions of the machine, for example the supply voltage or the error in the signal representing the position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Nidec SR Drives, Ltd.
    Inventors: Michael Ian Peter Henderson, Joseph Gerald Marcinkiewicz
  • Patent number: 9024552
    Abstract: The present invention includes a voltage applying step of applying an applied voltage including a DC component and a plurality of frequency components to a PM motor, a motor current detecting step of detecting a motor current flowing depending on the applied voltage, and a current control gain adjusting step of calculating a current control gain based on frequency characteristics of the applied voltage and the motor current. In this manner, a stable current control gain having a high current response can be adjusted within a short period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Tazawa, Masaru Nishizono
  • Patent number: 9024564
    Abstract: The invention provides a drive control device that comprises: inverters that are connected to a motor; a variable resistive element that is connected between the motor and each of the inverters; a current/voltage detection device connected between the motor and each of the inverters; and a controller that, when detecting a fault of an inverter that drives the motor based on a detection signal from the current/voltage detection device, gradually increases a resistance value of a variable resistive element provided between the faulty inverter and the motor at a velocity of a resistance variation such that a surge voltage has a voltage value for which the variable resistive element and the motor are not damaged, and executes drive control of the motor by a normal inverter other than the faulty inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichi Kinouchi, Kosuke Nakano
  • Patent number: 9024562
    Abstract: A motor constant calculating method for a PM motor according to the present invention includes a voltage applying step of applying an applied voltage including a DC component and a plurality of frequency components to a PM motor, a motor current detecting step of detecting a motor current flowing depending on the applied voltage applied in the voltage applying step, and a motor constant calculating step of calculating a motor constant of the PM motor based on the applied voltage and the motor current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Tazawa, Masaru Nishizono
  • Patent number: 9018871
    Abstract: A carrier generating unit applies a carrier that monotonically decreases to a switching control unit during either one of a first period that is a period immediately following a period in which a voltage command value is a value not more than a minimum value of the carrier, the voltage command value taking a first predetermined value larger than the minimum value of the carrier in the first period, and a second period that is a period immediately preceding a period in which the voltage command value is not less than a maximum value of the carrier, the voltage command value taking a second predetermined value smaller than the maximum value in the second period.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Ashida, Hiroshi Hibino, Naoto Kobayashi, Michihiro Nakagawa, Nobuki Kitano, Masaki Kouno
  • Patent number: 9018870
    Abstract: A control device for a rotating electrical machine, which is able to reduce a tracking delay of an actual output torque and actual currents with respect to a fluctuating torque command and fluctuating current commands and to reduce steady state deviations, is obtained. The control device includes a torque current computing unit; an actual current computing unit; a current feedback control unit; and a voltage control unit that controls voltages on the basis of the two-phase voltage commands. The torque command includes a fluctuation cancellation torque command for cancelling transmission torque fluctuations transmitted from the internal combustion engine, and the current feedback control unit includes a harmonic controller that calculates the two-phase voltage commands by using a characteristic of a transfer function corresponding to a periodic function of a frequency of the transmission torque fluctuations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kobayashi, Arinori Shimada, Takeshi Aoki, Subrata Saha, Ken Iwatsuki
  • Patent number: 9018881
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for diagnosing stator windings in an electric motor. An exemplary method for diagnosing stator windings in an electric motor involves determining an input energy imbalance across phases of the stator windings for an electrical period of the electric motor and identifying a fault condition when the input energy imbalance is greater than a first threshold value. In some embodiments, an input energy ratio across phases of the stator windings is also determined for the electrical period, wherein the fault condition is identified as a phase-to-phase short circuit fault condition when the input energy ratio is greater than a second threshold value and the input energy imbalance is greater than the first threshold value, or alternatively, as an in-phase short circuit fault condition when the input energy ratio is less than the second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Xiaofeng Mao, Lei Hao
  • Patent number: 9018869
    Abstract: A motor control device includes an acceleration portion for increasing a target number of rotations of a motor every predetermined calculation cycle until the target number of rotations of the motor reaches an upper limit number of rotations, which is set on the basis of a reached position of a driven object from a reference position, the driven object is driven by the motor so that a position of the driven object is changed, a deceleration portion for decreasing the target number of rotations of the motor every calculation cycle after the target number of rotations reaches the upper limit number of rotations, and a main control portion for controlling a drive of the motor on the basis of the target number of rotations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Daisuke Yuasa, Akira Aikawa
  • Patent number: 9018874
    Abstract: A circuit for filtering narrow pulse and compensating wide pulse, including a signal shaping circuit, a filter circuit, and a pulse width compensating circuit. The signal shaping circuit processes an input signal and transmits the input signal to the filter circuit. The filter circuit filters off narrow pulses of the input signal. The pulse width compensating circuit compensates the wide pulses of the input signal and outputs an output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Broad-Ocean Motor EV Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuefei Guo, Zhouping Lin, Chong Yu, Jun Kang, Kun Cheng
  • Patent number: 9013124
    Abstract: A method is provided. A command to correspond to a target speed of a motor is received. A rotational speed of the motor is measured, and a brake-to-off ratio for a braking interval is calculated based at least in part on the rotation speed, the target speed, a braking parameter. An off state for an inverter that is coupled to motor is induced during an off portion of the braking interval, and a brake signal is applied to the inverter during a braking portion of the braking interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventors: Kazunori Itoh, Yasushi Kitamura
  • Patent number: 9007006
    Abstract: Provided is a pump system. The pump system includes an AC (alternating current) electric motor, a converter, a smoothing unit, an inverter, a volt/hertz pulse width-modulation controller, and a main controller. The AC electric motor operates a pump which is a load. The converter receives AC power and converts the AC power into DC (direct current) power. The smoothing unit smoothes a DC voltage converted by the converter. The inverter converts the DC voltage output from the smoothing unit into an AC voltage. The volt/hertz pulse width-modulation controller applies switching voltage to a semiconductor switching device of the inverter. The main controller changes an operating frequency according to a load detected when the Ac electric motor is in operation and puts the AC electric motor to a sleep mode after determining a load operation status.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: LSIS Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hong Min Yun