Motor controller and method for operating a motor controller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9637023-B2
Application number	US-201615141237-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2016
Priority date	May 7, 2015
Publication date	May 2, 2017
Grant date	May 2, 2017

Abstract

A motor controller including a control unit designed for receiving and/or processing a movement signal and for outputting a control signal depending on the movement signal, and including a power stage which is designed for enabling an electric energy flow as a function of the control signal, and further including a sensor designed for detecting a movement of the electric motor and for providing a movement-dependent sensor signal to a sensor input of the control unit, wherein the control unit is designed for detecting a usage-dependent load value for a movement system driven by the electric motor and wherein the control unit includes a component memory for storing parameters of components of the movement system, a processing device for combining the parameters with incoming sensor signals to produce a load value and a load value memory for storing the established load value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motor controller for providing electric energy to an electric motor, the motor controller comprising a control unit designed for receiving and/or processing a movement signal and for outputting a control signal depending on the movement signal, and comprising a power stage which is electrically connected to the control unit and to an input connection and an output connection and which is designed for enabling an electric energy flow between the input connection and the output connection as a function of the control signal, and further comprising a sensor designed for detecting a movement of the electric motor and for providing a movement-dependent sensor signal to a sensor input of the control unit, wherein the control unit is designed for detecting a usage-dependent load value for a movement system driven by the electric motor, wherein the control unit comprises a component memory for storing parameters of components of the movement system, a processing device for combining the parameters with incoming sensor signals to produce a load value and a load value memory for storing the established load value.

2. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit comprises a data interface designed for providing load values from the load value memory and/or for providing component data to the component memory and/or for receiving movement signals.

3. The motor controller according to claim 2 , wherein the data interface is designed for providing load values from the load value memory to a higher-order control system, and/or for receiving movement signals from a higher-order control system.

4. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the processing device is designed for determining a travel provided at an output interface of the movement system and/or a number of movement reversal cycles performed by the movement system from the sensor signal of the sensor as a load value.

5. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the processing device is designed for pre-processing the sensor signal before determining the load value in such a way that movements of the electric motor below a presettable movement threshold do not have any influence on the load value.

6. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is designed for providing status signals at the data interface.

7. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the processing device is designed for providing encoded load values, and/or wherein the load value memory is designed for an irreversible storage of load values.

8. The motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor is designed for detecting a direction of rotation of a motor shaft of the electric motor, and/or wherein the control unit is designed for detecting a usage-dependent load value exclusively by way of the sensor signal of the sensor.

9. A method for operating a motor controller according to claim 1 , wherein the processing device, for determining a load value, carries out a pre-processing of the sensor signal using at least one threshold value from the group: travel, speed of movement, acceleration and determines the load value only if the at least one threshold value is exceeded.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the processing device changes the load value if a travel determined from the sensor signal exceeds a presettable travel threshold value.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the processing device, for determining a number of movement reversal cycles executed by the movement system from the sensor signal, determines a direction of movement and changes the load value if a movement in a first direction of movement is followed by a movement in an opposite second direction of movement and if both movements include a travel above a presettable travel threshold value.

Assignees

• Festo Ag & Co Kg

Inventors

• Kadynski Dominic
• Reimer Jan
• Gulla Martin

Classifications

• B60L15/20 Primary

  for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed · CPC title

• G05B19/4062 Primary

  Monitoring servoloop, e.g. overload of servomotor, loss of feedback or reference · CPC title

• G05B2219/42289

  Avoid overload servo motor, actuator limit servo torque · CPC title

• H02P29/40

  Regulating or controlling the amount of current drawn or delivered by the motor for controlling the mechanical load · CPC title

• G05B2219/41213

  Lookup table for load, motor torque as function of actual position · CPC title