Variable reluctance motor systems
AssigneeChloride Group Public Limited Company
InventorsWilliam F. Ray, Rex M. Davis
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A variable reluctance motor control system has for each main phase winding (11) a power converter circuit including a main thyristor (12) across a D.V. source (50) and a commutating circuit including a capacitor (51,52) and a commutating thristor (16), arranged to resonantly reverse the charge on the capacitor in preparation for energizing the next main phase winding (21) by passing a current through the other main phase winding.
Claims16
A variable reluctance electric motor system comprising:
- a variable reluctance motor having a main winding for each of a number of phases;
- a power converter circuit including a main thyristor in series with each main winding of the motor across a d.v. source for sequentially supplying each main winding with unidirectional current pulses independently of the other main windings;
- a commutating circuit including a capacitor for commutating the main thyristor of one phase;
- and
- a resetting circuit arranged to resonantly reverse the charge on the said capacitor by passing a current through the motor winding of another phase.
A variable reluctance electric motor system comprising:
- a variable reluctance motor having a main winding for each of a number of phases;
- a power converter circuit including a main thyristor in series with each main winding of the motor across the d.v. source for sequentially supplying each main winding with unidirectional current pulses independently of the other main windings;
- a commutating circuit embodying one or more commutating capacitors, to two main thyristors connected to opposite source terminals;
- commutating thyristors associated respectively with the said main thyristors, and, for operation in a chopping mode;
- means for firing a main thyristor;
- means for then firing the associated commutating thyristor to commutate the main thyristor, while reversing the capacitor charge, and for resetting the capacitor charge;
- means for firing the commutating thyristor of another phase to effect resonant reversal of the capacitor charge through the winding of said other phase.
A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which each phase of the motor also has an auxiliary winding closely coupled to the main winding and connected across the source in series with a diode so as to return energy to the source.
A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims comprising four phases, each having the junction of its main winding and main thyristor connected to the commutating circuit through an individual diode and a commutating thyristor common to it and another phase having its main thyristor connected to the same source terminal.
A variable reluctance electric motor system as specifically described herein with reference to any one of FIGS. 1, 2, 4 or 5, and FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.