Magnet control units
AssigneeHubbell Incorporated
InventorEric Scott Christenson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solid-state magnet control unit includes a housing and magnet controller circuitry mounted within the housing. The magnet controller circuitry controls current passing through a magnet. The magnet controller circuitry includes a power storage unit, drivers in a bridge network, e.g., an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) in a bridge network, and dump circuitry. The dump circuitry limits circuit damage to the magnet controller circuitry and other components contained within the magnet control unit. When the dump driver is not operational, operation of the magnet control unit is automatically switched to first or second safety mode of operation.
Claims18
A magnet controller for controlling an electromagnet, the magnet controller comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a drive unit, the drive unit having a bridge network operatively connected to the processor and a dump network having at least a portion operatively connected to the processor, the bridge network being operatively connected to the electromagnet and having a plurality of drivers arranged in a bridge configuration, wherein the dump network is configured to limit voltage that can occur across the bridge network, and wherein if the dump network is determined by the processor not to be functioning the processor automatically configures the bridge network to a safety mode of operation where a pair of the plurality of drivers are effectively shorted together.
A magnet control unit for controlling an electromagnet, the magnet control unit comprising:
- a housing;
- a processor unit within the housing;
- and
- a drive unit within the housing, the drive unit comprising:
- a power storage unit configured to supply DC power to the magnet control unit;
- a backup power supply adapted to supply a backup power to the magnet control unit when the DC power supplied by the power storage unit is lost;
- and
- a magnet drive engine having a bridge network operatively connected to the electromagnet and a dump network, the bridge network having one or more current sensors connected to the processor and a plurality of drivers arranged in a bridge configuration and each connected to the processor, the dump network having at least a portion operatively connected to the processor;
- wherein the bridge network is configured to control direction of current flow to the electromagnet, and the dump network is configured to maintain an output voltage generated by the power storage unit at a predefined level;
- and
- wherein if the dump network is determined by the processor not to be functioning the processor automatically configures the bridge network to a safety mode of operation where at least a pair of the plurality of drivers are effectively shorted together.
A magnet controller for controlling an electromagnet, the magnet controller comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a drive unit, the drive unit having a bridge network operatively connected to the processor and a dump network having at least a portion operatively connected to the processor, the bridge network being operatively connected to the electromagnet and having a plurality of drivers arranged in a bridge configuration, the bridge network is configured to control direction of current flow to the electromagnet and the dump network is configured to limit voltage that can occur across the bridge network;
- wherein the processor is configured to apply a lifting current to the electromagnet by activating a first driver and applying a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal at a 100% duty cycle to a second driver, and to apply a holding current by lowering the duty cycle of the PWM signal applied to the second driver;
- and
- wherein if the dump network is determined by the processor not to be functioning the processor automatically configures the bridge network to a safety mode of operation where a pair of the plurality of drivers are effectively shorted together.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.