Electric motor and motor control
AssigneeNidec Motor Corporation
InventorsGregory A. Peterson, Michael P. Sullivan, Stephen J. Burton, Gary E. Horst, Keith I. Hoemann, Richard J. Fadler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various embodiments of an electric motor and electronic control for an electric motor are disclosed. An exemplary electric motor comprises a single-phase brushless permanent magnet electric motor. In exemplary embodiments, the electronic motor control is configured to commutate an electric motor at a frequency other than line frequency, perform pulse width modulation, and drive the electric motor with a drive waveform that approximates the counter-electromotive force of the motor.
Claims13
A motor system comprising:
- an electric motor comprising:
- a stator, a rotor, and a winding;
- a single-phase electric power supply circuit configured to receive an alternating current having a first frequency and provide electric power to the electric motor;
- and
- a motor controller comprising a processor and a memory, the motor controller being configured to control the single-phase electric power supply circuit, the processor being configured to execute a motor control software that (a) receives position data indicative of rotor position, and (b) based on the received position data, electronically commutates the electric motor at a second frequency not equal to the first frequency, the memory comprising a lookup table that stores a digital representation of a counter-electromotive force waveform associated with the electric motor.
A motor system comprising:
- an electric motor comprising:
- a stator, a rotor, and a winding;
- a single-phase electric power supply circuit configured to receive an alternating current having a first frequency and provide electric power to the electric motor;
- and
- a motor controller comprising a processor and a memory, the motor controller being configured to control the single-phase electric power supply circuit, the processor being configured to:
- start the electric motor in a predetermined start direction by executing a start-up sequence comprising driving the electric motor with an alignment pulse including a single polarity pulse width modulation burst;
- execute a motor control software that (a) receives position data indicative of rotor position, and (b) based on the received position data, electronically commutates the electric motor at a second frequency not equal to the first frequency;
- generate a series of drive pulses according to pulse width modulation for commutating the electric motor at the second frequency;
- electronically commutate the electric motor at the second frequency according to a selected speed profile;
- and
- check whether a DC bus voltage is outside an acceptable range and disable drive power to the electric motor if the DC bus voltage is outside the acceptable range;
- the memory comprising a lookup table that stores a digital representation of a counter-electromotive force waveform associated with the electric motor, the digital representation comprising a triangle waveform approximation of the counter-electromotive force waveform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.