Systems, apparatuses, and methods to perform startup step detection in an internal permanent magnet synchronous machine

A system comprising:

• a permanent magnet brushless motor comprising a rotor and stator, wherein the rotor comprises a plurality of magnets and the stator comprises a plurality of windings, wherein each winding of the plurality of windings is associated with one of a plurality of slots;
• at least one processor and at least one memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured to determine, prior to starting the motor, a startup rotor step position by being configured to:
• apply a first sequence of voltage signals to a plurality of terminals of the motor, wherein the first sequence of voltage signals comprises a plurality of sequence steps, and wherein each sequence step of the sequence steps is associated with a unique combination and order of two terminals of the plurality of terminals;
• measure, for each sequence step, a current measurement, wherein each current measurement measures a current or a change in current per time;
• determine a highest current measurement of the plurality of current measurements;
• and
• identify the startup rotor step position of one of six rotor step positions based on the highest current measurement.

A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portion configured to:

• determine, prior to starting a permanent magnet brushless motor, a startup rotor step position by:
• wherein the permanent magnet brushless motor comprises a rotor and stator, wherein the rotor comprises a plurality of magnets and the stator comprises a plurality of windings, wherein each winding of the plurality of windings is associated with one of a plurality of slots;
• apply a first sequence of voltage signals to a plurality of terminals of the motor, wherein the first sequence of voltage signals comprises a plurality of sequence steps, and wherein each sequence step of the sequence steps is associated with a unique combination and order of two terminals of the plurality of terminals;
• measure, for each sequence step, a current measurement, wherein each current measurement measures a current or a change in current per time;
• determine a highest current measurement of the plurality of current measurements;
• and
• identify the startup rotor step position of one of six rotor step positions based on the highest current measurement.