Motor unit and multi-motor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10848091-B2
Application number	US-201716472329-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2017
Priority date	Dec 22, 2016
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

A motor assembly includes a motor, a control circuit to generate a control signal, a motor driving circuit to cause a current to flow in the motor based on the control signal, a storage to store a first identifier uniquely identifying itself and a second identifier uniquely identifying another motor assembly within the communications network, and a communication circuit. The communication circuit transmits a data frame, in which the first identifier indicates a transmitting end, the second identifier indicates a receiving end, and a request are stored. The communication circuit receives from the other motor assembly a data frame including the second identifier indicating a transmitting end, the first identifier indicating a receiving end, and a request. In response the communication circuit transmits a data frame including the second identifier indicating a receiving end added thereto and the first identifier indicating a transmitting end added thereto.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motor assembly used in a multi-motor system in which a plurality of motor assemblies perform communications via a communications network, the motor assembly comprising:
a motor;
a control circuit to generate a control signal to cause the motor to rotate;
a motor driving circuit to cause a current to flow in the motor based on the control signal;
a storage to store a first identifier uniquely identifying the motor assembly and a second identifier uniquely identifying each of the plurality of motor assemblies within the communications network; and
a communication circuit to perform transmission and reception of a data frame with another motor assembly in the multi-motor system; the communication circuit storing to the data frame the first identifier indicating itself as a transmitting end, the second identifier uniquely identifying the other motor assembly as a receiving end, and a request concerning an operation to be performed by the other motor assembly, and transmitting the data frame to the other motor assembly.

2. The motor assembly of claim 1 , wherein
the communication circuit performs transmission and reception of a data frame with another motor assembly in the multi-motor system; and
the communication circuit:
stores, to a data frame the first identifier indicating itself as a transmitting end, the second identifier uniquely identifying the other motor assembly as a receiving end, and a request concerning an operation to be performed by the other motor assembly, and transmits the data frame to the other motor assembly; and
receives, from the other motor assembly a data frame containing the second identifier of the other motor assembly being a transmitting end, the first identifier of the motor assembly itself as a receiving end, and a request concerning an operation to be performed by itself, and, in response to the request from the other motor assembly, transmits a data frame having the second identifier indicating a receiving end added thereto and having the first identifier indicating a transmitting end added thereto.

3. The motor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the data frame includes an operation command that defines the request concerning the operation to be performed by the other motor assembly.

4. The motor assembly of claim 3 , wherein the data frame includes an attribute command indicating a static or dynamic attribute concerning the motor in the other motor assembly.

5. The motor assembly of claim 4 , wherein the operation command is a request to read or write the attribute that is designated by the attribute command.

6. The motor assembly of claim 2 , wherein the data frame includes an operation command that defines the request concerning the operation to be performed by the motor assembly itself.

7. The motor assembly of claim 6 , wherein the data frame further includes an attribute command indicating a static or dynamic attribute concerning the motor.

8. The motor assembly of claim 7 , wherein the operation command is a request to read or write the attribute that is designated by the attribute command.

9. The motor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first identifier and the second identifier are device identifiers of devices which define the plurality of motor assemblies.

10. A multi-motor system comprising:
a plurality of motor assemblies including first, second, and third motor assemblies; and
a communications network connecting the plurality of motor assemblies;
each of the plurality of motor assemblies including:
a motor;
a control circuit to generate a control signal that causes the motor to rotate;
a driving circuit to cause a current to flow in the motor based on the control signal;
a storage to store an identifier uniquely identifying the motor within the communications network; and
a communication circuit to perform communications via the communications network; wherein

the control circuit of the first motor assembly:
generates a first command including:
an instruction to cause status information indicating a state of the receiving motor assembly to be transmitted;
an identifier that identifies a motor of the third motor assembly being a receiving end of the status information; and
a transmission timing of the status information; and

transmits the first command to the second motor assembly via the communication circuit; and

the control circuit, having received the first command second motor assembly, transmits a second command including the status information of the second motor assembly to the third motor assembly based on the first command and with the transmission timing.

11. The multi-motor system of claim 10 , wherein the transmission timing in the first command includes a transmission cycle.

12. The multi-motor system of claim 10 , wherein the transmission timing in the first command includes a transmission start time and a transmission end time.

13. A multi-motor system comprising:
a plurality of motor assemblies; and
a communications network connecting the plurality of motor assemblies;
each of the plurality of motor assemblies including:
a motor;
a control circuit to generate a control signal to cause the motor to rotate;
a motor driving circuit to cause a current to flow in the motor based on the control signal;
a storage to store an identifier uniquely identifying the motor within the communications network; and
a communication circuit to perform communications via the communications network; wherein

the respective identifiers of the plurality of motor assemblies are assigned by a predetermined order; and
one specific motor assembly that is determined according to the predetermined order arbitrates the communications to be performed within the communications network.

14. The multi-motor system of claim 13 , wherein, via the communication circuit, each of the plurality of motor assemblies except for the specific motor assembly receives a notification that the specific motor assembly is the motor assembly that arbitrates the communications from the specific motor assembly.

15. The multi-motor system of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of motor assemblies except for the specific motor assembly receives the notification at a predetermined cycle from the specific motor assembly.

16. The multi-motor system of claim 14 , wherein, if each of the plurality of motor assemblies except for the specific motor assembly fails to receive the notification from the specific motor assembly at a predetermined cycle, one motor assembly that is determined according to the predetermined order from among the plurality of motor assemblies except for the specific motor assembly arbitrates the communications to be performed within the communications network as a new specific motor assembly.

17. The multi-motor system of claim 13 , wherein the notification includes the identifier of the specific motor assembly.

18. The multi-motor system of claim 13 , wherein, prior to the communications, the identifier of the specific motor assembly is shared among the plurality of motor assemblies.

19. The multi-motor system of claim 18 , wherein each of the plurality of motor assemblies, when first becoming able to perform communications, transmits the identifier to the other motor assemblies after observing a delay time that is determined in accordance with the identifier that is stored in the storage device.

20. The multi-motor system of claim 13 , wherein, as the identifier, each of the plurality of motor assemblies stores an ordin

Assignees

• Nidec Corp

Inventors

• Sato Motoki
• Tabuchi Tetsuya

Classifications

• H04L67/12 Primary

  specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks · CPC title

• H02P29/00

  Arrangements for regulating or controlling electric motors, appropriate for both AC and DC motors (arrangements for starting electric motors H02P1/00; arrangements for stopping or slowing electric motors H02P3/00; control of motors that can be connected to two or more different electric power supplies H02P4/00; regulating or controlling the speed or torque of two or more electric motors H02P5/00; vector control H02P21/00) · CPC title

• H02P23/0077 Primary

  Characterised by the use of a particular software algorithm · CPC title

• H02P5/74 Primary

  controlling two or more AC dynamo-electric motors (H02P5/46, H02P5/60 take precedence) · CPC title

• G05B19/4155

  characterised by program execution, i.e. part program or machine function execution, e.g. selection of a program · CPC title