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US 9,022,177 B2Granted
Pump having stepper motor and overdrive control
AssigneeLincoln Industrial Corporation
InventorsPaul G. Conley, David C. Beck, Nathan D. Donovan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus and method for supplying lubricant to a plurality of lubrication sites. Embodiments include a pump with venting and non-venting piston return, a pump with stirrer and direct feed mechanism, a pump with CAN system and self-diagnostics, a pump with heated housing and reservoir and a pump with stepper motor and overdrive control.
Claims26
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore, said stepper motor having a continuous duty operating range and having a stall range;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the stepper motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant;
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying PWM pulses having a power within the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor;
- and
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying overdrive PWM pulses for a period of time, said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power greater than the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor and said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power less than the stall range of the stepper motor.
5 more elements
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore, said stepper motor having a continuous duty operating range and having a stall range;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the stepper motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant, said controller including a memory storing a speed vs. pressure profile of the stepper motor;
- and
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal and as a function of the profile,
- wherein said controller selectively applies the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying overdrive PWM pulses for a period of time, said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power greater than the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor and said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power less than the stall range of the stepper motor.
5 more elements
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore, said stepper motor having a continuous duty operating range;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant;
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying PWM pulses having a power within the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor;
- and
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying overdrive PWM pulses for a period of time, said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power greater than the continuous dutperatin range of the steer motor;
- a lubricant delivery system in communication with said cylinder outlet for delivering lubricant;
- wherein the lubricant delivery system has a plurality of valves, each for delivering lubricant, and further comprising:
- a controller area network (CAN) bus connected to the controller;
- a power supply;
- a power bus connected to the power supply;
- a plurality of actuators, each associated with one of the valves for opening and closing its associated valve;
- and
- a plurality of CAN modules, each associated with and controlling a plurality of relays, each relay connected to the power bus and connected to one or more actuators for selectively energizing its connected actuators to open and close the valves associated with the actuators in order to deliver lubricant wherein each CAN module is connected to the CAN bus for controlling its relays in response to instructions provided by the controller via the CAN bus.
13 more elements
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore, said stepper motor having a continuous duty operating range;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant;
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying PWM pulses having a power within the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor;
- and
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying overdrive PWM pulses for a period of time, said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power greater than the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor;
- a lubricant delivery system in communication with said cylinder outlet for delivering lubricant;
- wherein the lubricant delivery system comprises a plurality of zones, each zone having a plurality of said valves, and further comprising:
- a zone valve for each zone selectively connecting each zone with said cylinder outlet;
- a zone actuator associated with each zone valve for opening and closing its associated zone valve;
- and
- a CAN zone module associated with each zone actuator, each CAN zone module connected to a CAN bus and responsive to instructions provided by the controller via the CAN bus to selectively energize its associated zone actuator to open and close its associated zone valve to selectively supply lubricant to its zone.
11 more elements
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant, said controller including a memory storing a speed vs. pressure profile of the stepper motor;
- and
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal and as a function of the profile;
- a lubricant delivery system in communication with said cylinder outlet for delivering lubricant;
- wherein the lubricant delivery system has a plurality of valves, each for delivering lubricant, and further comprising:
- a controller area network (CAN) bus connected to the controller;
- a power supply;
- a power bus connected to the power supply;
- a plurality of actuators, each associated with one of the valves for opening and closing its associated valve;
- and
- a plurality of CAN modules, each associated with and controlling a plurality of relays, each relay connected to the power bus and connected to one or more actuators for selectively energizing its connected actuators to open and close the valves associated with the actuators in order to deliver lubricant wherein each CAN module is connected to the CAN bus for controlling its relays in response to instructions provided by the controller via the CAN bus.
12 more elements
Apparatus for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore;
- a controller for controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant, said controller including a memory storing a speed vs. pressure profile of the stepper motor;
- and
- a sensor for sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- said controller responsive to the condition signal to selectively apply the PWM pulses to the stepper motor to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal and as a function of the profile;
- a lubricant delivery system in communication with said cylinder outlet for delivering lubricant;
- wherein the lubricant delivery system comprises a plurality of zones, each zone having a plurality of said valves, and further comprising:
- a zone valve for each zone selectively connecting each zone with said cylinder outlet;
- a zone actuator associated with each zone valve for opening and closing its associated zone valve;
- and
- a CAN zone module associated with each zone actuator, each CAN zone module connected to the CAN bus and responsive to instructions provided by the controller via the CAN bus to selectively energize its associated zone actuator to open and close its associated zone valve to selectively supply lubricant to its zone.
10 more elements
Method for supplying lubricant, comprising:
- providing a reservoir for holding lubricant, said reservoir having a reservoir outlet;
- providing a pump comprising a cylinder defining a cylinder bore, a cylinder inlet in communication with said reservoir outlet for flow of lubricant from the reservoir into the cylinder bore, and a cylinder outlet supplying lubricant, a piston movable in the cylinder bore;
- providing a drive mechanism including a stepper motor for moving the piston in the cylinder bore, said stepper motor having a continuous duty operating range and having a stall range;
- controlling the operation of the stepper motor by selectively applying pulse width modulated (PWM) pulses to the stepper motor to control a speed and/or a torque of the motor to move the piston to dispense lubricant;
- sensing a condition of the apparatus and providing a condition signal indicative of the condition;
- selectively applying the PWM pulses to the stepper motor in response to the condition signal to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying PWM pulses having a power within the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor;
- and
- at least one of the following:
- selectively applying the PWM pulses to the stepper motor responsive to the condition signal to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of the condition signal by applying overdrive PWM pulses for a period of time, said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power greater than the continuous duty operating range of the stepper motor and said overdrive PWM pulses having an overdrive power less than the stall range of the stepper motor;
- and
- selectively applying the PWM pulses to the stepper motor responsive to the condition signal to vary the speed and/or the torque of the stepper motor as a function of a profile.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.