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US 9,806,658 B2Granted
Wirelessly powered electric motor
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsPeng Zeng, Brian J. Tillotson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling an electric motor. Power is transmitted to windings of the electric motor by wireless magnetic coupling between transmission coils and the windings.
Claims17
A method of controlling an electric motor, the method comprising controlling a motion of the electric motor via:
- transmitting power to windings of the electric motor by wireless magnetic coupling between transmission coils and the windings, the electric motor being located at a first location and the transmission coils and electronic components controlling the motion of the electric motor being located at a second location physically separated from the first location;
- identifying, via the electronic components, a position of a rotor of the electric motor by identifying an effect of a position of the rotor on an inductance of a power transmitter;
- controlling, via the electronic components, a timing of transmitting the power to the windings in response to the position of the rotor;
- transmitting the power to the windings at a first frequency corresponding to a resonant frequency of first windings of the electric motor;
- and transmitting the power to the windings at a second frequency corresponding to a resonant frequency of second windings of the electric motor, the second frequency being non-harmonic to the first frequency.
2 more elements
A method of controlling an electric motor, the method comprising controlling a motion of the electric motor via:
- transmitting power to windings of the electric motor by wireless magnetic coupling between transmission coils and the windings, the electric motor being located at a first location and the transmission coils and electronic components controlling the motion of the electric motor being located at a second location physically separated the first location by a distance sufficient to reduce an electromagnetic interference from generating an undesired effect in the electronic components;
- identifying a position of a rotor of the electric motor by identifying an effect of the position of the rotor on inductance of the transmission coils;
- and
- controlling timing of transmitting the power by the transmission coils in response to the position of the rotor, such that as resonant frequency of a first winding in the windings changes, due to the position of the rotor, to a changed resonant frequency, a frequency of a power transmitting from a first transmission coil in the transmission coils changes to a changed frequency matching the changed resonant frequency.
1 more element
An apparatus, comprising:
- an electric motor comprising:
- a rotor;
- and a plurality of windings, wherein each of the plurality of windings has a different resonant frequency, and wherein resonant frequencies of the plurality of windings are not harmonics of each other;
- transmission coils configured to transmit power simultaneously to each winding in the plurality of windings;
- the electric motor located at a first location, and the transmission coils and electronic components;
- and the electronic components configured to:
- identify a position of the rotor by identifying an effect of the position of the rotor on an inductance of a power transmitter;
- and control a timing of transmitting power to the plurality of windings in response to the position of the rotor;
- controlling the electric motor being located at a second location different from the first location by a distance sufficient to reduce an electromagnetic interference from generating an undesired effect in the electronic components.
6 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- an electric motor that comprises:
- a rotor;
- and
- a plurality of windings, such that each of the plurality of windings comprises a different resonant frequency;
- and wherein resonant frequencies of the plurality of windings differ from each other by more than a bandwidth of a resonant peak for the each of the plurality of windings;
- and
- transmission coils configured to transmit power to the plurality of windings, the electric motor located at a first location and the transmission coils located at a second location different from the first location.
4 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- electronic components configured to control a resonant:
- a power transmitter comprising transmission coils configured to transmit power to windings of an electric motor by wireless magnetic coupling to the windings, such that the power transmitter is configured to transmit the power to the windings at a plurality of different frequencies corresponding to resonant frequencies of the windings, and the power transmitter comprises:
- a first transmission coil having a first resonant frequency corresponding to a resonant frequency of first windings of the electric motor:
- a second transmission coil having a second resonant frequency corresponding to a resonant frequency of second windings of the electric motor, the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency being non-harmonic frequencies of each other;
- and a controller configured to control the power transmitter to control timing of transmitting the power to the windings;
- wherein the controllers is configured to:
- identify a position of a rotor of the electric motor by identifying an effect of the position of the rotor on an inductance of the power transmitter;
- and control the timing of the transmitting the power to the windings in response to the position of the rotor;
- the electric motor located at a first location and the transmission coils located at a second location different from the first location by a distance sufficient to reduce an electromagnetic interference from generating an undesired effect in the electronic components.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.