Method and system for heating of robots in cold environments
AssigneeABB AB
InventorsSönke Kock, Jens Hofschulte
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Abstract
A method and system are disclosed for heating of robots in cold environments, whereby the robot possesses permanent magnet brushless or three-phase synchronous motors with three motor phases including three stator coils (L1, L2, L3) connected to an inverter controllable by a control-unit and with a rotor with permanent magnet excitation. A current can be applied to at least one phase of the stator coil (L1, L2, L3) of the motor such that, if the motor stands still, a directed magnetic flux (Φ) is created which interacts with the permanent magnets of the rotor in such a way that the resulting torque will be close to zero.
Claims8
A method for heating of robots in cold environments, comprising:
- providing a robot with permanent magnet brushless or three-phase synchronous motors with three motor phases including three stator coils (L1, L2, L3) connected to an inverter controllable by a control-unit and with a rotor with permanent magnet excitation;
- applying a current to at least one phase stator coil (L1, L2, L3) of the motor when the motor stands still to create a directed magnetic flux (Φ) which interacts with permanent magnets of the rotor in such a way that a resulting torque will be close to zero wherein the current is a DC-current or a pulsed DC-current (I0) controlled by a current regulator;
- measuring the rotor position by a rotor-position-sensor;
- and
- creating a first static directed DC-stator-current (I0*x) flowing through stator coil L1 and a second static directed DC-stator-current (I0*y) flowing through strator coil L3, that generate a directed magnetic flux (Φ) which is aligned with the rotor flux.
A system for heating of robots in cold environments, comprising:
- permanent magnet brushless or three-phase synchronous motors with three motor phases including three stator coils (L1, L2, L3) connected to inverters for mounting in the robot for heating up drive train components of the robot when the robot is in standstill;
- a control-unit for controlling the inverters;
- a rotor with permanent magnet excitation;
- at least one supervisory-control-unit for monitoring the motor temperature to address overheating;
- a current regulator for controlling a current applied to the three stator coils (L1, L2, L3), wherein the current is a DC-current or a pulsed DC-current (I0);
- and
- a rotor-position-sensor for determining a fixed rotor position, wherein the control unit is arranged to control the inverters based on the measured rotor position to create a first static directed DC-stator current (I0*x) flowing through stator coil L1 and a second static directed DC-stator-current (I0*y) through stator coil L3, that generate a directed magnetic flux (Φ) which is aligned with the rotor flux.
A robot for use in cold environments, comprising:
- permanent magnet brushless or three-phase synchronous motors with three motor phases including three stator coils (L1, L2, L3) connected to inverters for mounting in the robot for heating up drive train components of the robot when the robot is in standstill;
- a control-unit for controlling the invertors;
- a rotor with permanent magnet excitation;
- at least one supervisory-control-unit for monitoring the motor temperature to address overheating;
- a current regulator for controlling a current applied to the three stator coils (L1, L2, L3), wherein the current is a DC-current or a pulsed DC-current (I0);
- and
- a rotor-position-sensor for determining a fixed rotor position, wherein the control unit is arranged to control the inverters based on the measured rotor position to create a first static directed DC-stator current (I0*x) flowing through stator coil L1and a second static directed DC-stator-current (I0*y) flowing through stator coil L3, that generate a directed magnetic flux (Φ) which is aligned with the rotor flux.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.