Motor control apparatus

• US 10,090,797 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2016
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Takahei, Kazuki, Azuma, Toshihiro, Uemura, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ro, Bentsu
• Application Number:
  US15/525,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20180198402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• Field of Search: 318471-473, 388934
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/60 Controlling or determining the temperature of the motor or of the drive H02P29/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/62 for raising the temperature of the motor

Abstract

A motor control apparatus that controls a motor equipped with a cooling apparatus includes: an acquisition unit to acquire the temperature of the motor; a drive control unit to drive the motor and output a driving state and an operating condition of the motor as an operation information signal; and a cause determination unit to determine, on the basis of the temperature of the motor and the operation information signal, at least one of a plurality of causes of heat generation as a cause of heat generation by the motor.

Claims

1. A motor control apparatus that controls a motor equipped with a cooling apparatus, the motor control apparatus comprising:

a processor to execute a program; and

a memory to store the program which, when executed by the processor, performs

an acquisition process of acquiring a temperature of the motor;

a drive control process of driving the motor and outputting a driving state and an operating condition of the motor as an operation information signal; and

a cause determination process of determining, on a basis of the temperature of the motor and the operation information signal, at least one of a plurality of causes of heat generation as a cause of heat generation by the motor.

2. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cause determination process includes determining that one or both of unsuitability of the operating condition and degradation in cooling capacity of the cooling apparatus are the cause of the heat generation by the motor or determining that another cause is the cause of the heat generation by the motor.

3. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the acquisition process further includes acquiring an ambient temperature of the motor, and

the cause determination process includes determining, further on a basis of the ambient temperature, that at least one of unsuitability of the operating condition, degradation in cooling capacity of the cooling apparatus, and change in ambient environment of the motor is the cause of the heat generation by the motor or determining that deterioration of a main body of the motor is the cause of the heat generation by the motor.

4. The motor control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cause determination process includes

determining, on a basis of an output or a current of the motor during operation, whether the cause of the heat generation is the unsuitability of the operating condition,

determining, on a basis of a temperature of the motor during an interruption or on a basis of the temperature of the motor during an interruption and the ambient temperature, whether the cause of the heat generation is the degradation in cooling capacity, and

determining, on a basis of the ambient temperature, whether the cause of the heat generation is the change in ambient environment.

5. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program which, when executed by the processor, further performs a display process of outputting, to a display apparatus, information related to a determination of the cause of the heat generation as a display signal.

6. The motor control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display signal is a signal that includes at least one of information related to a determination status in the cause determination process, information related to a determination result in the cause determination process, and information related to a countermeasure that corresponds to the cause of the heat generation.

7. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program which, when executed by the processor, further performs a correction process of outputting, for the drive control process, a correction signal corresponding to the cause of the heat generation.

8. The motor control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program which, when executed by the processor, further performs a temperature monitor process of outputting a detection signal for the cause determination process when heat generation by the motor is detected on a basis of the temperature of the motor, wherein

the cause determination process includes determining the cause of the heat generation upon receipt of the detection signal.