Electric powertrain with rotary electric machine and position sensor-to-controller interface

A method for controlling a rotary electric powertrain having an inverter-controller that is electrically connected to a battery pack and includes a rotary electric machine, a traction power inverter module, and a motor controller, the method comprising:

• operatively connecting a rotary position sensor to a rotor of the electric machine;
• commanding a torque and/or speed level from the electric machine, via the inverter-controller, to thereby power a driven load;
• generating angular position signals via the rotary position sensor from an unmodulated sine and cosine signals;
• wirelessly communicating the angular position signals to the inverter-controller using a wireless transmitter while the electric machine powers the driven load;
• receiving and decoding the position signals via the inverter-controller;
• and
• regulating the torque and/or speed level via the inverter-controller in response to the angular position signals to thereby power the driven load.

A mobile platform comprising:

• a set of road wheels;
• a wireless sensor-controller interface;
• a battery pack;
• an inverter-controller electrically connected to the battery pack, and having a traction power inverter module (TPIM) and a motor controller;
• a rotary electric machine electrically connected to the TPIM of the inverter-controller and having a rotor with an angular position, wherein the rotor is configured to impart a corresponding torque to the road wheels at a level controlled by the inverter-controller in response to position signals indicative of the angular position of the rotor;
• and
• a rotary position sensor operatively connected to the rotor and configured to output the position signals, and having a backup low-voltage power supply, wherein the rotary position sensor includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) configured to derive the position signals from unmodulated sine and cosine signals, and to communicate the position signals and a binary sensor state of health (SOH) to the inverter-controller in digital data packets over the wireless sensor-controller interface, wherein the inverter-controller:
• includes a media converter block that receives and processes the digital data packets, is coupled to a de-serializer block via a twisted two-wire connection, and is configured to decode the position signals and the binary sensor SOH to generate decoded control data and thereafter control a torque and/or speed operation of the electric machine using the decoded control data when powering the road wheels;
• and
• is configured to generate an error signal by subtracting a derivative of the angular position from an angular speed, and to determine a true state of the position sensor using the error signal, and wherein the inverter-controller is configured to execute another control action in response to the error signal exceeding a calibrated threshold.