Patents Examined by Zoheb S Imtiaz
  • Patent number: 11336216
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides systems and methods for using a linear resonant actuator (“LRA”) to determine a type of contact between a device and its surroundings. The LRA may be coupled to an amplifier by one or more switches. The audio amplifier may receive a signal from a microcontroller and transmit the signal the LRA when the switches are closed. When the switches are in an open position, the LRA may be actively sensing for the type of contact. The back EMF may be measured when the switches are open. The measured back EMF waveform may be used to determine the type of contact. When the signal is not being transmitted, the LRA may be passively sensing to determine whether the device was tapped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Artem Dementyev, Richard Francis Lyon, Alex Olwal
  • Patent number: 11334103
    Abstract: A programmable thermal dissipation power (TDP) system with integrated circuits is provided. The programmable TDP system includes a software interface, a monitoring circuit, and a controller circuit. The monitoring circuit may provide for the instantaneous input power supplied to the system. The controller circuit may monitor both the target TDP information specified from upstream and the input power readings. The controller circuit may generate a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal that corresponds to a gap between the two power levels and sends the signal to the integrated circuits on the system. The integrated circuit may respond to the change in the input PWM signal and may adjust its power consumption. For example, the integrated circuit may adjust the clock frequency, adjust the instruction rate, skip a number of clock cycles, etc.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Robert Ashby Armistead, III, Shuai Jiang, Binayak Roy, Thomas James Norrie, Houle Gan
  • Patent number: 11323049
    Abstract: A drive device includes a first inverter and a second inverter configured to respectively drive two rotary electric machines. Carrier signals for controlling the first inverter and the second inverter are set to be in mutually opposite phases. For at least one connection line out of a connection line between the first inverter and one of the rotary electric machines and a connection line between the second inverter and another one of the rotary electric machines, a balance capacitor and a balance inductor are disposed between the at least one connection line and a ground potential such that an impedance to ground generated between the one of the rotary electric machines and the ground potential coincides with an impedance to ground generated between the other one of the rotary electric machines and the ground potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kodai Katagiri, Yutaro Kitagawa, Shota Hanioka
  • Patent number: 11316452
    Abstract: An electronic device includes a motor, a sensing device and a controller. The motor provides a motive power to the load. The sensing device measures a plurality of motion parameters of the motor. The controller calculates a real system parameter between the motor and the load according to the motion command and the plurality of motion parameters. According to the motion command and the plurality of motion parameters, the controller acquires a real value of a rotation speed of the motor. Moreover, controller establishes a system model according to the motion command and the real system parameter so as to acquire an estimated value of the rotation speed of the motor. If the first mean square error is not smaller than the first target value, the controller performs a particle swarm optimization algorithm to change the estimated value of the rotation speed of the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: DELTA ELECTRONICS, INC.
    Inventors: Ching-Hsiung Tsai, Yen-Ming Lu, Chia-Hui Chen
  • Patent number: 11309814
    Abstract: Enhanced motor power control circuitry is presented herein. In one implementation, a circuit includes power transistor elements in a half-bridge arrangement configured to selectively switch current for a phase of a motor according to control signals applied to corresponding gate terminals. The circuit also includes control circuitry configured to produce the control signals to achieve target states among the power transistor elements. The control signals have ramp rates determined based at least on polarities of the current through the power transistor elements during inactive states.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Michael Edwin Butenhoff, Rakesh Raja, Nicholas James Oborny
  • Patent number: 11309822
    Abstract: Electric motors and drive circuits therefor are described herein. The drive circuit is configured to operate in a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation. The drive circuit includes an inverter configured to regulate current to a first winding and a second winding of the electric motor in the first mode of operation and to only the first winding in the second mode of operation. The drive circuit also includes a first switch coupled to the second winding and configured to supply line frequency current to the second winding at a first node in the second mode of operation, and a second switch coupled to the second winding and configured to enable selection of regulating current to the second winding using the inverter in the first mode of operation or supplying the line frequency current directly to the second winding in the second mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Regal Beloit America, Inc.
    Inventors: Ludovic Andre Chretien, Roger C. Becerra
  • Patent number: 11303230
    Abstract: A fan brake circuit includes a semiconductor switch unit, a motor, a motor drive circuit, an isolation unit, a charging/discharging unit and a control unit. One end of the motor, the semiconductor switch unit and the control unit serves to receive an input power. When the fan is powered off, the semiconductor switch unit disconnects from the motor and the motor drive circuit receives the operation voltage provided by the charging/discharging unit and transmits the drive signal to the motor, whereby the motor forms a short-circuit to brake. By means of the design of the fan brake circuit, when the fan is powered off, the fan can quickly brake and stop and the cost is lowered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: ASIA VITAL COMPONENTS (SHEN ZHEN) CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Po-Sheng Huang
  • Patent number: 11296632
    Abstract: A motor driving apparatus and a control method thereof, including a dc-link capacitor configured to store DC power, an inverter including a plurality of switching elements and converting the DC power stored in the dc-link capacitor into AC power to output the power to a motor, a dc-link resistor element disposed between the dc-link capacitor and the inverter; and a controller configured to control an operation of the inverter. The controller calculates a phase difference between a first reference voltage vector among a plurality of reference voltage vectors that are preset on the space vector and a voltage command, generates a switching frequency, determines a first operating point located in a dead band that is a one-phase current undetectable area in one switching cycle and a second operating point located at an outer position including a boundary of the dead band, and controls operation of the plurality of switching elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Jungsong Moon, Seongju Kim, Donggeun Lee
  • Patent number: 11272802
    Abstract: A motor driven system for raising and lowering a window covering executes motor ramp trajectory speed control. The motor ramp trajectory limits acceleration of an external motor from the idle (stationary) state to full operating speed, and limits deceleration of the motor from full operating speed back to the idle state. This function reduces stresses on a continuous cord loop drive mechanism. A control system manages solar heating effects in response to sunlight entrance conditions such as system sensor outputs, external weather forecasts, and other data sources. The system automatically opens or close the window covering to increase or decrease admitted sunlight under appropriate conditions. The input interface of the control system includes a visual display and input axis, which are aligned vertically if the window covering mechanism raises and lowers the window covering, and are aligned horizontally if the window covering mechanism laterally opens and closes the window covering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: RYSE INC.
    Inventors: Trung Duc Pham, Alan Wing Hor Cheng, Marc Rashad Bishara, Clifton Pereira
  • Patent number: 11271506
    Abstract: A control device and a control method for an induction motor. The control device comprises: a magnetizing current adjusting unit used for calculating a magnetizing voltage instruction; a torque current adjusting unit used for calculating a torque voltage instruction; a flux linkage instruction angle generating unit calculating a flux linkage instruction angle according to a lower limit ?1th of a preset stator frequency, a stator frequency ?1, and a flux linkage estimation angle; and a motor stator voltage instruction calculating unit calculating, according to the magnetizing voltage instruction, the torque voltage instruction, and the flux linkage instruction angle, a stator voltage instruction for controlling a stator of the motor. The control system can be run outside an unstable area, and the stability of control by the control device is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: OMRON Corporation
    Inventors: Yutao Wang, Shaofeng Liu
  • Patent number: 11271500
    Abstract: A rotating electric machine drive unit includes a first rotating electric machine; a second rotating electric machine; a rotating electric machine housing having a rotating electric machine accommodation portion; a power control unit having a power conversion unit which controls at least one of the first rotating electric machine and the second rotating electric machine; and a connecting member which electrically connects at least one of the first rotating electric machine and the second rotating electric machine to the power conversion unit of the power control unit. When viewed from a rotation axis direction of the first rotating electric machine and the second rotating electric machine, a part of the power control unit is disposed so as to overlap with at least one of the rotating electric machine housing and the first rotating electric machine in a radial direction of the first rotating electric machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ryuta Wakabayashi
  • Patent number: 11268731
    Abstract: An air conditioner includes a main control unit, and a motor-driving control unit. The main control unit transmits, at every first time, an instruction for rotating the motor to the motor-driving control unit. The motor-driving control unit outputs, on the basis of the instruction, an instruction for rotating the motor to the inverter output unit. When the motor-driving control unit does not receive a new instruction for rotating the motor from the main control unit before the first time elapses from a time when the motor-driving control unit receives the instruction for rotating the motor from the main control unit last, the motor-driving control unit outputs an instruction for continuing operation based on the instruction for rotating the motor received from the main control unit at an immediately preceding time to the inverter output unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshihito Ono
  • Patent number: 11258396
    Abstract: Method for operating a power converter for a permanently excited electric machine, wherein temperature information, which describes a temperature of at least one permanent magnet of the electric machine, is determined by means of an observer as a function of operating parameters of the electric machine, and the power converter is controlled as a function of the temperature information, wherein a computing device, which handles processes in time slices, carries out a first process in a first time slice for detecting parameter values for determining the operating parameters and carries out a second process, which determines the temperature information, in a second time slice, which is retrieved less frequently than the first time slice.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: VALEO SIEMENS EAUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventor: Markus Seilmeier
  • Patent number: 11251726
    Abstract: An inverter assembly for an electric vehicle. The inverter assembly includes three inverters driving at least one wheel of the vehicle. Each inverter has a different phases angle relative to the other inverters in order to minimize current ripple and reduce the capacitor size to allow a smaller package for the inverter assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: KARMA AUTOMOTIVE LLC
    Inventors: Lixin Tang, Geng Niu
  • Patent number: 11251733
    Abstract: A method for controlling a variable speed drive arranged for powering an electric motor, the variable speed drive comprising a power part and a control part. The method comprises a preliminary phase of storing a set of predetermined levels of flux of the electric motor. Then, during a current phase, the method comprises selecting a level of flux from among the set of predetermined levels of flux and controlling the power part of the variable speed drive based on the selected level of flux as reference value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Schneider Toshiba Inverter Europe SAS
    Inventors: François Malrait, Thomas Devos
  • Patent number: 11245348
    Abstract: In order to improve control of a long-stator linear motor, a first measured value is ascertained in a first measurement section and a second measured value is ascertained in a second measurement section, in each case along a transport path in a movement direction. The first measurement section overlaps, in the movement direction, the second measurement section in an overlap region, and the first measured value and the second measured value represent the same actual value of a physical quantity. An operating parameter of the long-stator linear motor determined based on a deviation occurring between the first measured value and the second measured value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Stefan Flixeder, Stefan Huber, Alexander Almeder
  • Patent number: 11239781
    Abstract: A motor driving circuit includes a wiring pattern formed in a circuit board, which is configured such that electrical current flowing into a motor flows through the wiring pattern; and a current measurement circuit configured to measure an amount of electrical current flowing through the wiring pattern, based on an amount of voltage drop occurring in response to flowing of the electrical current. The motor driving circuit includes a drive unit configured to adjust a current measurement value measured by the current measurement circuit, based on first adjustment data that compensates for variation in resistance of the wiring pattern caused by an individual difference in the circuit board, and to drive the motor based on an adjusted current value which is the adjusted current measurement value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUMI ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Hagimori, Itsuki Nakano
  • Patent number: 11233478
    Abstract: A motor drive unit for driving a motor of a motorized window treatment may comprise software-based and hardware-based implementations of a process for detecting and resolving a stall condition in the motor, where the hardware-based implementation is configured to reduce power delivered to the motor if the software-based implementation has not first reduced the power to the motor. A control circuit may detect a stall condition of the motor, and reduce the power delivered to the motor after a first period of time from first detecting the stall condition. The motor drive unit may comprise a stall prevention circuit configured to reduce the power delivered to the motor after a second period of time (e.g., longer than the first period of time) from determining that a rotational sensing circuit is not generating a sensor signal while the control circuit is generating a drive signal to rotate the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
    Inventors: Donald F. Hausman, Jr., Chen Ming Wu
  • Patent number: 11228266
    Abstract: A permanent magnet synchronous machine (1) having a rotor (R) and a stator (S). Connection terminals (2) apply a feed alternating voltage with a feed frequency (f0). The permanent magnet synchronous machine (1) has a motor controller (10). The controller (10) has an assembly (11) to detect the terminal voltage on the connection terminals (2) and the current frequency (fa). Also, the controller has an analysis device (12). The analysis device (12) ascertains whether the current frequency (fa) contains a frequency component (fr) with a frequency that deviates from the feed frequency (f0).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2022
    Assignee: ebm-papst Mulfingen GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventor: Ralph Wystup
  • Patent number: 11219493
    Abstract: A surgical tool having an elongated shaft having a proximal end and distal end. A surgical end effector is located about the distal end. The surgical end effector has a plurality of effector mechanisms comprising a plurality of degree of freedoms. An effector body is located at the proximal end. The effector body includes a plurality of motor interfaces for driving the plurality of effector mechanisms. A transmission is coupled to the effector body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: David W. Bailey, Gabriel F. Brisson, Rumen Deyanov, Ray Lathrop, Theodore W. Rogers