Reluctance motor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9164497-B2
Application number	US-201314043612-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 1, 2013
Priority date	Oct 1, 2013
Publication date	Oct 20, 2015
Grant date	Oct 20, 2015

Abstract

A method and apparatus for controlling operation of an electric motor. A controller is configured to identify a position of a disc relative to a plate with coils physically associated with the plate. The controller is further configured to control a current sent to the coils based on the position of a disc. The disc is configured to move such that a closest point between the disc and the plate changes along a periphery of the disc.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a controller configured to identify a position of a disc relative to a plate with coils physically associated with the plate, and control a current sent to the coils based on the position of the disc, wherein the disc is configured to move such that a closest point between the disc and the plate changes along a periphery of the disc, wherein the controller comprises a normal vector calculator configured to identify a disc normal vector for the disc from inductance information and coil position information for the coils.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a rotor having first teeth engaged with second teeth on the disc, wherein movement of the disc causes rotation of the rotor.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the disc and the plate with the coils form a motor and wherein the motor is configured to be connected to a device selected from one of an aerodynamic control surface, a propeller, and a wheel.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a sensor system configured to generate information about the position of the disc.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the sensor system is comprised of at least one of an inductance sensor, an encoder, a Hall effect sensor, a laser range finder, a camera, a distance sensor, or a current sensor.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to identify the position of the disc relative to the plate with the coils physically associated with the plate based on inductance measured for the coils.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises:
a cross product generator configured to identify a vector from a cross product of the disc normal vector and a plate normal vector; and
a closest point identifier configured to identify an angle for the closest point from vector information received from the cross product generator, wherein the vector information is based on the vector.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the disc is a first disc, the plate is a first plate, the coils are first coils, the position is a first position, and the controller is further configured to identify a second position of a second disc relative to a second plate with second coils physically associated with the second plate and control the current sent to the second coils based on the second position of the second disc.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the disc moves with a nutating motion.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the disc and the plate form an electric motor selected from one of a reluctance motor, a variable reluctance motor, and a virtual ellipse device.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to identify a duty cycle state of an electric motor based on the current flowing in the coils and generate a current command to control the current sent to the coils within a range based on the duty cycle state of the electric motor.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
an electric motor comprising the disc, the plate, and the coils; and
a hydraulic motor system, wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the hydraulic motor system.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller, the disc, and the plate form an electric motor located in a platform selected from one of a mobile platform, a stationary platform, a land-based structure, an aquatic-based structure, a space-based structure, an aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle, drilling equipment, an electric crane, a windmill, a winch, a surface ship, a tank, a personnel carrier, a train, a spacecraft, a space station, a satellite, a submarine, an automobile, a power plant, a bridge, a dam, a house, a manufacturing facility, a building, a robot, a robotic arm, and an electric propulsion system.

14. An electric motor system comprising:
an electric motor having a plate with coils physically associated with the plate and a disc configured to move such that a closest point between the disc and the plate changes along a periphery of the disc; and
a controller configured to identify a position of the disc relative to the plate based on inductance measured for the coils and control a current sent to the coils based on the position of the disc, wherein the controller comprises a normal vector calculator configured to identify a disc normal vector for the disc from inductance information and coil position information for the coils.

15. The electric motor system of claim 14 further comprising:
a rotor having first teeth engaged with second teeth on the disc, wherein movement of the disc causes rotation of the rotor.

16. The electric motor system of claim 14 further comprising:
a sensor system configured to measure the inductance for the coils.

17. The electric motor system of claim 14 , wherein the controller further comprises:
a cross product generator configured to identify a vector from a cross product of the disc normal vector and a plate normal vector; and
a closest point identifier configured to identify an angle for the closest point from vector information received from the cross product generator, wherein the vector information is based on the vector.

18. The electric motor system of claim 14 , wherein the disc moves with a nutating motion.

19. A method for controlling operation of an electric motor, the method comprising:
identifying a position of a disc relative to a plate with coils physically associated with the plate, wherein the identifying step comprises identifying a first normal vector for the disc based on inductance measured for the coils; and
controlling a current sent to the coils based on the position of the disc, wherein the disc is configured to move such that a closest point between the disc and the plate changes along a periphery of the disc.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the identifying step further comprises:
generating a cross product of the first normal vector for the disc and a second normal vector for the plate; and
identifying an angular position of the closest point of the disc relative to the plate based on the cross product of the first normal vector for the disc and the second normal vector for the plate.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein movement of the disc causes rotation of a rotor having first teeth engaged with second teeth on the disc.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the rotor is connected to a device selected from one of an aerodynamic control surface, a propeller, and a wheel.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein a sensor system is configured to generate information about the position of the disc.

24. A system comprising:
a hydraulic motor system;
a reluctance motor system, wherein the reluctance motor system operates as a booster for the hydraulic motor system; and
a controller associated with the electric motor, the controller configured to identify a position of a disc relative to a plate with coils physically associated with the plate and control a current sent to the coils based on the position of the disc, wherein the controller comprises a normal vector calculator configured to identify a disc normal vector for the disc from inductance information and coil position information for the coils.

25. An electric motor system comprising:
a first controller associated with a first electric motor, the first controller configured to identify a position of a first disc relative to a first pl

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Cameron Douglas C
• Benson Christopher Pete

Classifications

• H02K41/065 Primary

  Nutating motors · CPC title

• H02P2203/01

  Motor rotor position determination based on the detected or calculated phase inductance, e.g. for a Switched Reluctance Motor · CPC title

• H02P6/16

  Circuit arrangements for detecting position · CPC title

• G05B11/011 Primary

  details of the correcting means · CPC title

• H02P25/08 Primary

  Reluctance motors · CPC title