With Torque Or Load Determination (e.g., By Calculation, Detection, Or Estimation, Etc.) Patents (Class 318/400.15)
  • Publication number: 20130257327
    Abstract: A multi-phase multi-pole electric machine attached to a vehicle. The multi-phase multi-pole electric machine includes rotor, stator with five phase windings, machine controller, and torque sensors. The machine controller controls the flow of current. The torque sensors senses the torque exerted by the vehicle and transmits the information to the machine controller. The machine controller provides four degree of control through injection of five phase currents and thus providing higher torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2012
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Inventor: Rakesh K. Dhawan
  • Patent number: 8547042
    Abstract: A method and device for determining the motor moment constant kM of an electric motor by measuring motor parameters on the running motor. For reduction of the previously considerable measuring effort it is proposed that firstly the generator voltage UEMK produced by the motor is measured, and in that the motor moment constant kM is calculated by division of the generator voltage UEMK and the speed of rotation fMot of the motor, taking into consideration at least one further constant. The method and the device are suitable for DC motors and for 3-phase synchronous motors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Kaltenbach & Voigt GmbH
    Inventors: Richard Bürk, Thomas Bischof
  • Patent number: 8547040
    Abstract: A control apparatus of an electric vehicle, which is operable to be driven by supplying electric power from a battery to an electric motor to drive the electric motor and operable to perform regeneration charge, includes: a request torque calculating unit calculating a request torque of the electric motor; a motor control unit controlling the electric motor based on the request torque; and a torque suppression unit performing a feed forward control for setting the request torque based on a rotational angular speed of the electric motor so that an integrated value of a torque and a rotational angular speed of the electric motor at time when the electric motor is driven or the regeneration charge is performed is identical to an integrated value of the torque and the rotational angular speed stored at a point of time when the battery voltage or the battery current reaches the limit level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2013
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Makoto Kamachi
  • Patent number: 8541971
    Abstract: When applying a high frequency voltage which alternates on positive and negative sides to a permanent magnet synchronous motor, a driving system of synchronous motor switches the applied voltage phase by 120 degrees successively and applies resultant voltages to three phases. A pulsating current generated by applying a high frequency voltage is detected at timing of elapse of a predetermined time ?t since an output voltage of at least one phase has changed from a state in which all output voltages of the three phases of a power converter are positive or negative. Current detection is conducted by using a DC resistor or a phase current sensor provided on a DC bus. A magnetic pole estimation unit calculates the rotor magnetic pole position of the permanent magnet synchronous motor on the basis of differences between positive side and negative side change quantities in three-phase currents obtained from detected current values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshifumi Sakai, Yoshitaka Iwaji, Kiyoshi Sakamoto, Yoshiyuki Taguchi, Daigo Kaneko
  • Patent number: 8541969
    Abstract: In a method and a device for pulse width modulated (PWM-) activation of an electrical drive motor (2) of an adjustment arrangement based on a reference of the mechanical system of the adjustment arrangement that corresponds to a relationship between the force (F) on the drive motor (2) and the adjustment path (s) or the adjustment time (t) of the adjustment arrangement stored in a memory (9), an anticipated future force value (F(t+t0)) is determined based on the reference of the mechanical system in order to adjust the PWM activation in advance by utilizing this future force value such that motor synchronization fluctuations can be prevented upon anticipated mechanical fluctuations in the adjustment arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2013
    Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Holzinger, Roman Morawek, Daniel Zuffer
  • Publication number: 20130241452
    Abstract: Motor control command output means outputs, as a motor control command, a second command value, which is calculated by second command value calculating means on the basis of a first command value generated by first command value calculating means and a current value obtained by causing motor driving system current adding means to add together currents of respective motor driving systems, to the motor driving systems of two systems constituted by a motor and drive circuits for driving the motor. The second command value calculating means may calculate the second command value by performing a d/q coordinate system current feedback calculation using the current value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: September 19, 2013
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hiroshi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8536812
    Abstract: A motor control device includes a current detecting unit detecting current flowing into a motor winding, a speed/electrical angle estimating unit estimating a rotational speed and an electrical angle of the motor, based on the current, a load torque estimating unit estimating load torque to be developed by a load, from a torque current obtained based on the current and the electrical angle, a motor constant and inertia moment of the motor inclusive of the load, a load torque phase calculating unit calculating a phase of periodic fluctuation indicated by the load torque, a torque-compensating current determining unit determining a sinusoidal torque-compensating current, based on the load torque phase, and an amplitude/phase adjusting unit detecting speed fluctuation of the motor to adjust amplitude and phase of the torque compensating current by increasing or decreasing the amplitude and the phase so that the speed fluctuation is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Sari Maekawa
  • Patent number: 8532852
    Abstract: A control device for a hybrid drive, in particular for a hybrid drive of a motor vehicle having at least one combustion engine and at least one electric motor as driving motors, whose torques are coupled together to form a total torque. A controller is provided which generates an actuating signal for controlling the speed of each of the driving motors, a first actuating signal acting on the electric motor having a higher dynamic response than a second actuating signal acting on the combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
    Inventor: Jens-Werner Falkenstein
  • Publication number: 20130221885
    Abstract: A controller for an AC electric motor, includes a Feed Forward Torque Controller and a load model. The Torque controller directly derives a torque related component of applied motor voltages from a signal representing a torque command input T* and at least one motor parameter. The load model derives a motor speed value including a model of motor speed behaviour of the AC electric motor to provide an output signal which represents the motor speed of the AC electric motor. This motor speed output signal is used in determining a frequency of rotation of an applied motor voltage vector. Where an input to the load model is the signal representing the torque command input T*, the load model uses the signal representing the torque command T*, at least over a part of an operating speed range of the AC motor which includes zero speed, to determine the motor speed output signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2010
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Applicant: University of Technology, Sydney
    Inventor: Gregory Peter Hunter
  • Patent number: 8519661
    Abstract: A power train for a transport vehicle is provided. The power train includes an electric motor comprising a shaft, a stator and a rotor, a power supply system receiving direct input voltage and delivering a polyphase voltage to the motor. The system has a modulation factor equal to the voltage amplitude of each phase of the motor divided by the direct input voltage, and includes a sensor for the rotational speed of the rotor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Alstom Transport SA
    Inventors: Guillaume Desportes, Sebastien Belin, David Cypers, Olivier Giacomoni
  • Patent number: 8493017
    Abstract: The invention relates to an electrical drive having a motor with a rotor and a stationary stator, which has a coil arrangement, and having a motor controller for controlling the motor, with the motor controller being configured to pass current through the coil arrangement in order to produce an excitation field, with the coil arrangement having a plurality of coil winding sections, and with each coil winding section having a plurality of coil sections, wherein the polarity of at least one coil section of the plurality of coil sections of each coil winding section can be selectively reversed with respect to the other coil sections of the coil winding section. The drive is particularly suitable for use for an electrical tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2013
    Assignee: C. & E. Fein GmbH
    Inventor: Lothar Dietl
  • Patent number: 8446115
    Abstract: A motor drive device has a drive circuit for driving a motor, and a control section for controlling the drive circuit. The control section has a current command value calculating portion for calculating a current command value, a rotation calculating portion for calculating a rotation angle and an angular speed of the motor, a current command value correcting portion for correcting the current command value based on the rotation angle, a voltage command value calculating portion for calculating a voltage command value based on the current command value, a voltage command value correcting portion for correcting the voltage command value based on the current command value and the rotation angle and the angular speed, and a drive signal generating portion for generating a drive signal based on the voltage command value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Omron Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Michisada Yabuguchi, Takenobu Nakamura, Shinichi Kuratani
  • Patent number: 8441223
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a torque control method for a high-speed Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM), which controls a torque in the high-speed operation of a 2-phase SRM. In the torque control method for a high-speed SRM, a positive torque (T*mA) of an active phase (A phase) of the two phases of the SRM is compensated for based on a negative torque attributable to an inactive phase (B phase) of two phases during a compensation control enable interval (ENA) ranging from a time point at which the active phase (A phase) is turned on to a time point at which tail current of the inactive phase (B phase) remains. Accordingly, the present invention can remarkably reduce a torque ripple occurring in high-speed operation mode in consideration of the influence of a negative torque attributable to tail current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Kyungsung University Office of Industry-Academy Cooperation
    Inventors: Jin-Woo Ahn, Dong-Hee Lee
  • Patent number: 8436573
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes a first inverter circuit and a second inverter circuit, a capacitor, and a microcomputer. The microcomputer switches a control operation, according to the steering state of a steering wheel, between a first state where a first duty center value is shifted to be lower than an output center value and a second duty center value is shifted to be higher than the output center value, and a second state where the first duty center value is shifted to be higher than the output center value and the second duty center value is shifted to be lower than the output center value. This can reduce a difference in heat loss between FETs while reducing the ripple current of the capacitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Nobuhiko Uryu, Takashi Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20130106330
    Abstract: A torsional mode damping controller system is connected to a converter that drives a drive train including an electrical machine and a non-electrical machine. The controller system includes an input interface configured to receive measured data related to variables of the converter or the drive train and a controller connected to the input interface. The controller is configured to calculate at least one dynamic torque component along a section of a shaft of the drive train based on the measured data from the input interface, generate control data for a rectifier and an inverter of the converter for damping a torsional oscillation in the shaft of the drive train based on the at least one dynamic torque component, and send the control data to the rectifier and to the inverter for modulating an active power exchanged between the converter and the electrical machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Applicant: NUOVO PIGNONE S.p.A.
    Inventors: Simon Herbert Schramm, Christof Martin Sihler, Alfredo Sebastian Achilles, Paola Rotondo
  • Patent number: 8421391
    Abstract: An electric motor system includes an electric motor comprising a stator with windings and a rotor configured to operate at a motor speed; a cooling system comprising coolant configured to cool the rotor and the stator, the coolant having a coolant flow rate and a coolant temperature; an inverter module coupled to the electric motor and configured to provide current to the windings based on inverter control signals; a current regulated torque controller coupled to the inverter module and configured to generate the inverter control signals in response to a derated torque command; and a temperature estimation controller coupled to the current regulated torque controller and configured to generate the derated torque command based on an initial torque command and an estimated stator winding temperature. The temperature estimation controller is configured to estimate the estimated stator winding temperature based on the motor speed and the coolant flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Chia-Chou Yeh, Steven E. Schulz
  • Publication number: 20130076283
    Abstract: A motor control unit controls a motor including a rotor and a stator facing the rotor. A current drive unit drives the motor at an axis current value of a rotating coordinate system that rotates in accordance with a control angle that is a rotational angle used in a control. An addition angle calculation unit calculates an addition angle to be added to the control angle. A control angle calculation unit obtains, at every predetermined calculation cycle, a present value of the control angle by adding the addition angle that is calculated by the addition angle calculation unit to an immediately preceding value of the control angle. A torque detection unit detects a torque that is other than a motor torque and that is applied to a drive target driven by the motor. A command torque setting unit sets a command torque to be applied to the drive target.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2012
    Publication date: March 28, 2013
    Applicant: JTEKT CORPORATION
    Inventor: JTEKT CORPORATION
  • Publication number: 20130057186
    Abstract: A motor control device including: a following control unit that calculates a pre-correction torque command based on a difference between an operation command signal for commanding an operation of a motor and a detection signal resulting from detecting an operation of the motor; an adder that outputs a post-correction torque command by adding the pre-correction torque command to a correction torque command; and an electric-current control unit that outputs a drive current driving the motor based on the post-correction torque command, wherein the motor control device executes control so that the detection signal matches the operation command signal, and further including: a reference-periodic-signal computation unit; an amplitude/phase estimation unit; and a correction-torque computation unit, so that the correction torque command is updated such that a difference between the correction torque command and the post-correction torque command becomes smaller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2011
    Publication date: March 7, 2013
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Akira Tanabe, Hiroyuki Sekiguchi, Hidetoshi Ikeda
  • Publication number: 20130026959
    Abstract: An estimated torque constant calculation unit calculates an estimated torque constant relating to the permanent magnet synchronous motor from a current representative value and an acceleration representative value acquired from a plurality of current values and a plurality of acceleration values in the same operation state over a plurality of periods of a sinusoidal command signal and a predetermined inertia relating to the permanent magnet synchronous motor. A demagnetization detection unit detects whether or not irreversible demagnetization has occurred in the permanent magnet of the permanent magnet synchronous motor based on a difference between the estimated torque constant and a predetermined torque constant relating to the permanent magnet synchronous motor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2012
    Publication date: January 31, 2013
    Applicant: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoto SONODA, Yasusuke IWASHITA
  • Patent number: 8330399
    Abstract: A voltage detector 17 for detecting a voltage VB of a battery 9 as a main power supply and a voltage detector 18 for detecting a voltage VC of an auxiliary power supply 14 are provided. On the basis of an upper limit value IB previously defined as the maximum value of current through the battery 9, a control circuit 6 defines an upper limit of the electric power supplied to the motor 4 as ?·VB·IB (? representing the efficiency of the driving circuit 5) when a first output mode is selected in which the auxiliary power supply 14 is not used or defines the upper limit of the electric power supplied to the motor 4 as ?·(VB+VC)·IB when a second output mode is selected in which the auxiliary power supply 14 is used as connected in series with the battery 9.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: JTEKT Corporation
    Inventor: Shigeki Nagase
  • Patent number: 8310186
    Abstract: In an apparatus, a predicting unit predicts, based on a target value of a drive mode of a power converter at a next timing, a first value of a controlled variable. The drive mode is indicative of a switching-state of each of a plurality of switching elements. The target value of the drive mode of the power converter at the next timing is temporarily set at a present timing prior to the next timing. A driving unit drives the plurality of switching elements based on the target value of the drive mode at the next timing while limiting a number of switching-state changes in the plurality of switching elements from the present timing to the next timing as long as the deviation between the predicted first value of the controlled variable at the further next timing and a command value therefor is within a threshold range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Akihiro Imura, Tomoya Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20120262099
    Abstract: A jack-up platform (1) has a hull (2) and at least three longitudinally movable support legs (3) for the hull (1), at least one of the support legs (3) has at least one variable speed drive (8, 8A1 to 8F2) as a part of a leg driving mechanism, wherein the platform (1) has a closed-loop control unit (7) for the driving mechanism, the closed-loop control unit (7) being connected with the variable speed drive (8, 8A1 to 8F2) via a bi-directional electronic bus (16) for transmitting control parameters (M*,M,N,R).
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Inventor: Vemund Kaarstad
  • Patent number: 8264179
    Abstract: Method for control of synchronous electrical motors with application for stepper and Brush-Less Direct Current motors for which there is an explicit relation between the active electrical power supplied to the motor and the mechanical power that the motor delivers to the load. The active electrical power Pel consumed by the motor is measured and according to FIG. 3 the mechanical power Pmech and the maximum available mechanical power Pmech max are determined. The ratio between Pmech and Pmech max is calculated and is compared to the set value of the same ratio. If it is greater than the set one either the operating currents are increased either the operating speed is decreased or both operations are executed. But if it is smaller—either the operating currents are decreased either the operating speed is increased or both operations are executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2012
    Inventors: Radek Georgiev Nachev, Blagovest Georgiev Nachev
  • Patent number: 8253365
    Abstract: A method for fault diagnosis for a rotor of an electric motor, the electric motor also having a stator, includes the steps of generating, via a processor, a measured motor current for the stator, determining, via the processor, a resolver angle of the rotor, determining, via the processor, a flux angle of the rotor, calculating, via the processor, a transformation angle using the resolver angle and the flux angle, conducting, via the processor, a transformation of the motor current using the transformation angle, and identifying, via the processor, a fault condition based on the transformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventor: Chia-Chou Yeh
  • Patent number: 8248007
    Abstract: A control apparatus for an AC motor controls an inverter in a pulse width modulation scheme to feed a coil current to a stator coil of a stator. A pattern switching mechanism switches a control pattern to a first pattern or to a second pattern; a first pattern calculating mechanism calculates a control signal using a first pattern parameter; a second pattern calculating mechanism calculates a control signal using a second pattern parameter; an offset calculating mechanism calculates a difference between a control signal of an old pattern and a control signal of a new pattern, and reflects the offset amount on the control signals; and a control output mechanism calculates a final control output signal on the basis of the control signals, and transmits the final control output signal to the inverter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Noriko Matsuo, Hiroyuki Inagaki
  • Publication number: 20120206074
    Abstract: A variable speed power converter controls the speed of a load in a material handling system as a function of the torque required to move the load. While the power converter is running, the torque being produced in the motor is determined. The power converter then determines the maximum rotational speed of the motor as a function of the torque currently being produced and of the torque-speed curve of the motor. The power converter then commands the motor to rotate at this maximum rotational speed. The power converter periodically monitors the torque being produced and adjusts the maximum rotational speed of the motor throughout the run.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 15, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Inventors: Aaron S. Kureck, Kurtis L. Verheyen
  • Publication number: 20120206075
    Abstract: A power inverter is provided that can apply to an AC rotary machine three-phase voltages of high amplitudes and low distortion while suppressing ohmic loss attributed to current detection resisters. The power inverter includes a superimposed voltage command computing means for computing and outputting a superimposed voltage command depending on the difference between a maximum value and a minimum value of three-phase voltage commands; a voltage command modification means for adding the superimposed voltage command to each of the three-phase voltage commands and outputting modified three-phase voltage commands; and a power output means for outputting the three-phase voltages based on the modified three-phase voltage commands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Applicant: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yoshihiko KIMPARA, Takayuki KIFUKU, Tatsuya MORI
  • Patent number: 8242720
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention permit the optimization of torque control of a permanent magnet machine including obtaining instantaneous terminal voltages of the machine, transforming the instantaneous terminal voltages to a zero direct axis voltage and a non-zero quadrature axis voltage, using a mathematical transformation, regulating the electrical frequency of the permanent-magnet machine such that the zero direct-axis voltage is adjusted to have a value of zero, determining a non-final electrical angle of the permanent-magnet machine by applying an integrator to the regulated electrical frequency of the machine, determining a final electrical angle of the of the machine by integrating the non-final electrical angle and an electrical angle from a previous calculation cycle, and regulating the current vector of the machine such that the current vector is perpendicular to the final electrical angle of the machine, thereby optimizing the torque of the machine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Aerovironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Zaher Abdallah Daboussi, Scott Garret Berman
  • Publication number: 20120194109
    Abstract: A power conversion device includes a first inverter circuit and a second inverter circuit, a capacitor, and a microcomputer. The microcomputer switches a control operation, according to the steering state of a steering wheel, between a first state where a first duty center value is shifted to be lower than an output center value and a second duty center value is shifted to be higher than the output center value, and a second state where the first duty center value is shifted to be higher than the output center value and the second duty center value is shifted to be lower than the output center value. This can reduce a difference in heat loss between FETs while reducing the ripple current of the capacitor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Publication date: August 2, 2012
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nobuhiko Uryu, Takashi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 8232754
    Abstract: A control device for an electrically driven door is provided that can enhance the sensitivity of detection of a door pinch state and that can prevent a passenger from being pressed when the door pinch state occurs. The control device includes a driving force instruction value producing unit that outputs a driving force instruction value of the electrically driven door, a state observing unit that estimates a mechanical resistant force to a door driving system, a reference model that determines a dynamic characteristic of the electrically driven door to the mechanical resistant force estimated by the state observing unit, a gain compensator that computes a control compensation value that makes an output of the reference model coincide with an actual speed of the electrically driven door; and an adder that adds the control compensation value computed by the gain compensator to the driving force instruction value outputted by the driving force instruction value producing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2012
    Assignee: Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Satoru Ozaki
  • Patent number: 8222845
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for operating a rotating electric machine, wherein the rotating electric machine is connected by phases to a converter circuit having a direct-current circuit for switching at least two voltage levels, and the phases of the converter circuit are connected to the direct-current circuit according to a selected switch state combination of switch states of power semi-conductor switches of the converter circuit. Exemplary embodiments can reduce the switching frequency of the power semi-conductor switches, based on a prediction of further behavior of the overall system, and selection of an optimum switching state combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: ABB Research Ltd
    Inventors: Georgios Papafotiou, Franz Zurfluh
  • Patent number: 8207694
    Abstract: When the torque command value is zero, a set point of DC current for an inverter is calculated to obtain a difference between the set point and a detected DC current so that an error in magnetic pole position may be estimated and corrected. By correcting the magnetic pole position, unwanted power running and regenerative torque of the motor can be avoided and unnecessary charge or discharge to or from a battery can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shiho Izumi, Satoru Kaneko, Hideki Nihei
  • Patent number: 8207692
    Abstract: An electrically driven mooring includes a winding drum (101), an alternating current motor (103) arranged to drive the winding drum, a frequency conversion unit (104) connected to the alternating current motor, and a control unit (105) arranged to control the frequency conversion unit on the basis of an indicator for tension of the mooring rope. The control unit is arranged to compute a flux space vector for modelling a stator flux of the alternating current motor, to compute a torque estimate on the basis of the flux space vector and a space vector of stator currents, and to use the torque estimate as the indicator for the tension of the mooring rope. Hence, a need for a force sensor on the mooring rope and a need for a speed/position sensor on the motor shaft can be avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2012
    Assignee: ABB Oy
    Inventors: Mikael Holmberg, Vassili Jung
  • Patent number: 8193749
    Abstract: A control device has a unit for determining a controlled phase of a controlled voltage outputted from an inverter to a generator according to a difference between a target torque and an estimated torque of the generator, a unit for calculating an instructed vector norm of the controlled voltage from the target torque, an electrical angular speed of the generator and parameters indicating characteristics of the generator, a unit for correcting the instructed norm to an adjusted vector norm such that a phase of current flowing through the generator in response to the controlled voltage set at the controlled phase and the adjusted norm is controlled to a phase of an instructed current determined from the target torque, and a unit for controlling the generator by controlling the inverter to output the controlled voltage set at the controlled phase and the adjusted norm to the generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Tatsuru Morioka, Junji Miyachi
  • Publication number: 20120126732
    Abstract: A motor driver includes a control portion, for performing variable control on a torque or rotation speed of a motor through a control signal; and an output mode selection circuit, for sending an indication to the control portion when the control signal is abnormal, so that the motor enters an action status corresponding to a selection signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Publication date: May 24, 2012
    Applicant: ROHM CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tetsuo Yamato, Takashi Fujimura
  • Publication number: 20120116634
    Abstract: A suspension system is provided to execute a control for avoiding a state in which an operation of an electric motor which is a power source of an electromagnetic actuator is kept halted at a certain operational position while the motor is generating a motor force. Where a target rotational position of the motor becomes equal to a specific operational position (e.g., a rotational position at which an electrifying current amount of one phase reaches a peak value), a control for shifting the target rotational position by ?? is executed. Where the rotational position of the motor is kept located at the certain position for a time period longer than a prescribed time, a control for changing the rotational position of the motor is executed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 13, 2012
    Publication date: May 10, 2012
    Applicants: KAYABA INDUSTRY CO., LTD., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hirofumi Inoue, Hideshi Watanabe, Takuhiro Kondo
  • Patent number: 8164311
    Abstract: A control device has a unit for selecting each of states of an inverter applying a voltage to a generator, a unit for predicting a first current of the generator, flowing at a second time elapsed by one control period from a first time, from a detected current and the state of the inverter at the first time, a unit for predicting a second current of the generator at a third time elapsed by one control period from the second time while using the first current as an initial value of the second current, from information indicating one selected state set at the second time, for each selected state, a unit for determining one state corresponding to the second current nearest to instruction, and a unit for setting the inverter in the determined state at the second time to control current of the generator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Akihiro Imura
  • Patent number: 8164284
    Abstract: In an electric power steering system, an ECU 11 that controls the operation of the system includes three independent microcomputers 18u, 18v, 18w that perform phase current feedback control with respect to the corresponding phases, so that sinusoidal current is applied to each phase of the motor 12 as a non-connected motor. Also, each of the microcomputers 18u, 18v, 18w monitors a deviation of an actual current value from a phase current command value, with respect to each of two phases other than the corresponding phase, and determines that an abnormality occurs in the phase in question when the deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When two of the microcomputers 18u, 18v, 18w determine that the abnormality occurs in the remaining one phase, the ECU 11 confirms the determination that the phase in question is in an abnormal condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: JTEKT Corporation
    Inventor: Noritake Ura
  • Patent number: 8164288
    Abstract: To estimate a fluctuation component of the torque generated at the motor accurately, a motor control device (3) which controls a motor with a stator having armature winding and a rotor having a permanent magnet is provided to include a torque fluctuation component estimation unit for estimating a torque fluctuation component generated at the motor based on flux-linkage of the armature winding and an armature current that flows the armature winding. The torque fluctuation component estimation unit estimates the torque fluctuation component (Trp) based on an inner product (Fd·id+Fq·iq) of a flux-linkage vector which is a vectorial representation of the flux-linkage and a current vector which is a vectorial representation of the armature current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hajime Hida, Yoshio Tomigashi, Kenji Ueyama
  • Patent number: 8138704
    Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for controlling an electric motor in a vehicle. A method comprises measuring current associated with a first phase of the electric motor using a first current sensor resulting in a measured first phase current and measuring current associated with a second phase of the electric motor using a second current sensor resulting in a measured second phase current. The method further comprises determining a target value for the measured second phase current based on a value corresponding to a peak current for the first phase and identifying a current sensor error based on a difference between the measured second phase current and the target value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Sibaprasad Chakrabarti, Wei D. Wang
  • Patent number: 8125175
    Abstract: An electric steering system is provided with: a steering torque detection unit which detects a steering torque acting on the shaft; a brushless motor which includes a rotor and a stator having multi-phase stator coils, and generates an assisting torque for assisting the steering torque; a current supply switching unit which drives the brushless motor; a rotary angle estimation unit which outputs an estimated rotary angle; a determination unit which determines whether or not the estimated rotary angle is appropriate by comparison with a direction of the steering torque; and a steering control unit which drives the brushless motor in accordance with the estimated rotary angle determined to be appropriate by the determination unit to control generation of the assisting torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Atsuhiko Yoneda, Yasuo Shimizu, Takashi Miyoshi
  • Patent number: 8125168
    Abstract: A controllable motor includes a rotor. A first stator winding set is operable, upon being energized, to generate and apply a first torque to the rotor. A second stator winding set independent of the first stator winding set is operable, upon being energized, to generate and apply a second torque to the rotor. A motor control is coupled to the first and second stator winding sets. The motor control is operable to selectively energize one of the first or second stator winding sets to thereby generate and apply one of the first or second torques to the rotor, and simultaneously energize both the first and second stator winding sets to thereby generate and apply a third torque greater than the first or the second torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew T. Johnson, Casey Hanlon
  • Patent number: 8120297
    Abstract: A synchronous motor having phase windings which are split or tapped and in which the conduction angle of the applied alternating current is varied at one or more taps to allow the motor to start in a controlled direction and be torque controlled to synchronous speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Wellington Drive Technologies Limited
    Inventor: Jamie Jon Aorangi Wilkinson
  • Patent number: 8115437
    Abstract: The invention includes a motor controller and technique for controlling a permanent magnet motor. In accordance with one aspect of the present technique, a permanent magnet motor is controlled by receiving a torque command, determining a physical torque limit based on a stator frequency, determining a theoretical torque limit based on a maximum available voltage and motor inductance ratio, and limiting the torque command to the smaller of the physical torque limit and the theoretical torque limit. Receiving the torque command may include normalizing the torque command to obtain a normalized torque command, determining the physical torque limit may include determining a normalized physical torque limit, determining a theoretical torque limit may include determining a normalized theoretical torque limit, and limiting the torque command may include limiting the normalized torque command to the smaller of the normalized physical torque limit and the normalized theoretical torque limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Semyon Royak, Mark M. Harbaugh
  • Patent number: 8111027
    Abstract: The present motor control device detects from the speed of a motor and a current driving the motor that the motor is overloaded, and exerts control to set a target torque based on the detected overload state of the motor to cause the motor to output a maximal torque that the motor can output, intermittently within a preset allowable speed range. If the motor is overloaded, the motor's output torque is not decreased and a drive circuit can also be protected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroshi Nakayama
  • Patent number: 8098035
    Abstract: A motor control unit (10) includes: a power converter (40) having a rectifier circuit (20) which rectifies an AC voltage from an AC power supply (31), a capacitor circuit (22) which receives an output of the rectifier circuit (20) and outputs a rectified voltage having pulses from both ends of a capacitor (13) and an inverter circuit (25) which receives the rectified voltage and outputs an AC voltage to the motor (30); and a motor controller (41) controlling the motor (30) by controlling the inverter circuit (25). The motor controller (41) performs torque control to vary an output toque of the motor (30) in response to variation in load torque of the motor (30).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Daikin Industries, Ltd.
    Inventors: Morimitsu Sekimoto, Hitoshi Haga, Abdallah Mechi, Reiji Kawashima, Kenichi Sakakibara, Toshiyuki Maeda
  • Patent number: 8080956
    Abstract: A method of controlling a vehicle including a permanent magnet (PM) synchronous motor is provided. The motor is calibrated such that for each torque command, there are corresponding direct-axis (d-axis) and quadrature axis (q-axis) current commands. The method includes establishing a torque command T*. D-axis and q-axis current commands Id* and Iq*, respectively, corresponding to the torque command T* are determined. The motor is controlled based on Id* and Iq*. D-axis and q-axis currents Id and Iq, respectively, are measured. An output torque is estimated as a sum of the torque command T* and a torque difference. The torque difference is determined as a function of Id*, Iq*, Id, and Iq. The vehicle may be controlled based on the estimated output torque.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventor: Ji Wu
  • Publication number: 20110303252
    Abstract: A method for measuring the moment of inertia of a washing machine drum containing a load. The drum is set in a rotation by means of a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor taking it to a first angular spin velocity. The method includes identifying a synchronisation point in a periodic signal indicative of the torque provided by the synchronous electric motor at the first angular velocity. An acceleration transient of said drum with constant electromotive torque is provided by the synchronous electric motor. The method further includes interrupting the acceleration transient upon reaching a second angular velocity, acquiring the acceleration transient time duration, and processing an indirect measurement of the moment of inertia of the drum starting from a value of the torque yielded to the drum during the acceleration transient, from the transient time duration value, and from the variation of the angular velocity in the transient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2011
    Publication date: December 15, 2011
    Applicant: Askoll Holding S.r.l.
    Inventor: Elio Marioni
  • Publication number: 20110298403
    Abstract: In an apparatus, a norm setter sets, based on a request torque for a rotary machine and a rotational velocity of a rotor, a norm of a vector of an output voltage in a two-phase rotating coordinate system defined in the rotor. A phase setter sets, based on a deviation between a generated torque and the request torque, a phase of the vector of the output voltage of the power converter in the two-phase rotating coordinate system. A drive signal determiner determines, based on the norm set by the norm setter and the phase set by the phase setter, a drive signal, and applies the drive signal to a switching member to thereby drive the switching member such that the generated torque is adjusted to the request torque.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2011
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Applicant: DENSO CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Takahiro Yamada
  • Patent number: 8065050
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting an insufficient or missing phase current in a permanent magnet synchronous motor, and includes determining a composite vector position of a combined three-phase phase current with respect to a stationary portion of the motor, and assigning a sector to the position. The method includes comparing the phase current to a calibrated threshold current corresponding to the sector, and executing a response when the absolute value is less than the threshold. A vehicle includes an energy storage device (ESD), a motor/generator configured as a permanent magnet synchronous motor, a voltage inverter, and a bus for conducting DC current from the ESD to the inverter. A controller detects an insufficient phase current, determines a current vector position of the three-phase AC, assigns a sector to the position, and executes a response when an absolute value of the phase current is less than a calibrated threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Stephen T. West, Wei D. Wang, Sean E. Gleason