Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090027045 | Apparatus for sensing position and/or torque - An apparatus for measuring relative displacement between a first shaft and a second shaft includes first and second rotor assemblies. The first rotor assembly is coupled to the first shaft and is centered on an axis. The second rotor assembly is coupled to the second shaft. The second rotor assembly has first and second stator plates. Each of the first and second stator plates includes an upper surface and a lower surface. The first and second stator plates include a plurality of teeth extending in a direction radial of the axis. The apparatus further includes at least one magnet having a magnetic field and disposed on the first rotor assembly. The apparatus includes a flux collector arrangement having first and second collectors positioned adjacent the first and second stator plates, respectively, forming a gap. A sensing device disposed within the gap senses a magnetic flux of the magnetic field. | 01-29-2009 |
20090050398 | VARIABLE EFFORT STEERING ACTUATOR - A magnetic actuator, comprising, an inner ring, an outer ring disposed around the inner ring, a first pair of inner teeth disposed on the inner ring that partially define a gap between the first pair of inner teeth having a first angular dimension, a second pair of inner teeth disposed on the inner ring that partially define a gap between the second pair of inner teeth having a second angular dimension, a first pair of outer teeth disposed on the outer ring that partially define a gap between the first pair of outer teeth having a third angular dimension and a second pair of outer teeth disposed on the outer ring that partially define a gap between the second pair of outer teeth having a fourth angular dimension. | 02-26-2009 |
20090236920 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS INVOLVING OPITMIZED MOTORS - A motor comprising, a rotor having a shaped pole operative to minimize cogging torque and electro motive Force (EMF) harmonics, a stator having teeth members, the teeth members including, end portions, wherein the end portions partially define slot openings having a first dimension, and a notch opening defined by the end portions having a second dimension. | 09-24-2009 |
20100089686 | MAGNETIC APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE MAGNETIC APPARATUS - The present invention provides for a magnetic apparatus and a method of manufacturing the magnetic apparatus including a magnet having an outer surface and an inner surface opposing each other with the inner surface having a first portion and a second portion integrally connected to and facing each other and utilizing a fluid and a fixture body defining a hole along a fixture axis and a deflector disposed within the hole. The method includes the steps of installing the magnet on the fixture body and securing the magnet to the fixture body. The method further includes the steps of flowing the fluid through the magnet transverse to the fixture axis to form at least one aperture and intersecting the fluid with the deflector to redirect the fluid generally along the fixture axis. | 04-15-2010 |
20130166141 | Hand Wheel Position Detection System - A steering system for detecting a hand wheel position is provided and includes an input shaft connected to a hand wheel, a main gear disposed around the input shaft, a puck gear meshingly engaged with the main gear, and a control module. The control module receives an angular main position of the main gear and an angular puck position of the puck gear. The control module includes a rotational calculation module for calculating the hand wheel position based on at least the angular main position and the angular puck position. | 06-27-2013 |
20130261896 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A MOTOR - A method for controlling operation of a torque-assist motor includes determining a rotational position of the torque-assist motor and producing a motor speed signal that is indicative of a rotational speed of the motor. One or more gain factors are produced based on the rotational speed of the torque-assist motor. An electrical current applied to the torque-assist motor is detected, and a current error is calculated based on a commanded electrical current and the electrical current applied to the torque-assist motor. A quadrature axis voltage is calculated based on the current error and the one or more gain factors. An inverter is driven with a direct voltage signal that is phased with the rotational position of the torque-assist motor so as to produce the electrical current applied to the torque-assist motor. The electrical current exhibits a characteristic that is affected by the quadrature axis voltage. | 10-03-2013 |
20140222292 | VEHICLE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM - A vehicle electric power steering (EPS) control system includes a motor operatively coupled to an EPS linkage arrangement, the motor comprising a first winding and a second winding. Also included is a power source for the motor. Further included is a controller in operative communication with the motor and the power source. The controller includes a microprocessor configured to receive input from a torque sensor and a motor sensor. The EPS controller also includes a first field-effect transistor (FET) driver in operative communication with the microprocessor and a first plurality of FETs operatively connected to the first winding of the motor. The EPS controller further includes a second FET driver in operative communication with the microprocessor and a second plurality of FETs operatively connected to the second winding of the motor. | 08-07-2014 |
20140253000 | METHOD OF CURRENT REFERENCE GENERATION FOR A MOTOR - A motor control system for determining a reference d-axis current is provided, and includes a motor, a DC power source and DC input lines, and a current command controller. The DC power source generates a bridge voltage across the DC input lines. The current command controller is in communication with the motor and the DC input lines. The current command controller is configured to monitor the bridge voltage and a torque reference command. The current command controller is configured to determine a peak current based on the torque reference command. The current command controller is configured to determine a current angle based on the peak current. The current command controller is configured to determine the reference d-axis current based on the current angle. | 09-11-2014 |
20140253004 | METHOD AND SYSTEM TO COMPENSATE FOR DYNAMIC DC OFFSET OF MEASURED PHASE CURRENT - A motor control system for determining an offset correction value is provided. The motor control system includes a motor, an inverter, an inverter controller, and a dynamic offset compensation control module. The inverter is configured to transmit the phase current to the motor. The inverter controller determines the phase current to the motor. The dynamic offset compensation control module is in communication with the inverter controller and the motor, and is configured to perform a method at a fixed periodic interval to determine the offset correction value. | 09-11-2014 |
20140265951 | MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING A REFERENCE D-AXIS CURRENT AND A Q-AXIS CURRENT - A motor control system for determining a reference d-axis current and a reference q-axis current is provided. The motor control system includes a motor, a DC power source and DC input lines, and a current command controller. The DC power source generates a bridge voltage across the DC input lines. The current command controller is configured to monitor the bridge voltage and a torque reference command. The current command controller is configured to calculate the reference q-axis current based on a torque reference command. The current command controller is configured to calculate the reference d-axis current based on a magnitude of the reference q-axis current. | 09-18-2014 |
20140265961 | MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM TO COMPENSATE FOR TORQUE RIPPLE - A motor control system is provided. The motor control system includes a motor having plurality of motor harmonics, and a torque ripple compensation controller in communication with the motor. The torque ripple compensation controller is configured to determine a harmonic ripple current for a corresponding one of the plurality of motor harmonics. The harmonic ripple current is based on a reference q-axis current and a reference d-axis current. The torque ripple compensation controller is configured to add the harmonic ripple current for each of the plurality of motor harmonics together to determine the ripple compensating current. | 09-18-2014 |
20140265962 | MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING BANDWITH COMPENSATION - A motor control system for determining a ripple compensating current is provided. The motor control system includes a motor having a plurality of motor harmonics and a motor frequency, and a bandwidth compensation controller that is in communication with the motor. The bandwidth compensation controller is configured to determine a magnitude response compensation value and a phase compensation value for each of the plurality of motor harmonics. The magnitude response compensation value and the phase compensation value are both based on the motor frequency. The bandwidth compensation controller is configured to determine the ripple compensating current based on the magnitude response compensation value and the phase compensation value. | 09-18-2014 |
20140265986 | MOTOR CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING COMMON-MODE VOLTAGE COMPENSATION - A motor control system is provided, and includes a motor, at least one differential amplifier configured to monitor phase current applied to the motor, and a current compensation controller. The current compensation controller is in communication with the at least one differential amplifier, and is configured to periodically determine a common-mode voltage of the at least one differential amplifier. The current compensation controller is also configured to determine a corrected phase current value based on the common mode voltage. | 09-18-2014 |