Pump controller system and method

• US 10,241,524 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2014
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pentair Flow Technologies LLC (Pentair Plc (Ireland))
• Original Assignee: Pentair Water Pool And Spa Incorporated (Pentair Plc (Ireland))
• Inventors: Koehl, Robert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bertheaud, Peter J
• Application Number:
  US14/338,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20140334943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,707 Days
• Field of Search: 417 441, 417 4411, 417 45
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/06 Control using electricity regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/065 and making use of computers
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/10 Other safety measures
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0066 by changing the speed, e.g. of the driving engine
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0088 Testing machines
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/02 Stopping of pumps, or operating valves, on occurrence of unwanted conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0236 Lack of liquid level being detected by analysing the parameters of the electric drive, e.g. current or power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37371 Flow
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 16/202 actuated by an electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/0852 directly responsive to abnormal temperature by using a temperature sensor in a control circuit H02H7/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/00 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

Abstract

A method and apparatus for a pump control system. One or more embodiments of the invention include a pump controller that can perform a self-calibrating procedure, can provide precise motor speed control, can provide a limp mode before shutting down the motor when system parameters are exceeded and/or fault conditions occur, can detect fault conditions, and can store fault conditions for later retrieval.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a fault condition in a pool or spa, the pool or spa being coupled to a pump and a motor, the method comprising:

supplying a single-phase input to a controller from an AC bus;

measuring a voltage and a current being provided to the controller;

correcting a power factor based on the voltage and the current;

coupling a temperature sensor to a heatsink of at least one of the motor and the controller;

measuring a DC current on a DC bus to power inverter drives of the motor;

generating a variable frequency three-phase output from the inverter drives to the motor;

analyzing whether fault conditions have occurred based on (a) the DC current having a value less than a pre-set threshold indicative of a foreign object obstruction to the pump and (b) a temperature of the heatsink measured by the temperature sensor; and

shutting down the motor when at least one of the fault conditions have occurred.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising indicating to a user that the at least one of the fault conditions have occurred.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising inputting programming information to the controller by at least one of a terminal or serial data bus.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the controller stopping the inverter drives to the motor when a short circuit is detected.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the temperature on the heatsink of the controller is measured and the inverter drives are shut down if the measured temperature is greater than a predetermined threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein a second temperature value of the heatsink is measured with the temperature sensor and the controller attempts to restart the motor if the second temperature value is less than a predetermined temperature limit.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the motor is one of an AC induction motor, a brushless DC motor, and a switched reluctance motor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured with at least one of auxiliary relay inputs and auxiliary relay outputs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises at least one of a digital signal processor and a microcontroller.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a power factor correction and converter/rectifier module is connected to the inverter drives of the motor via the DC bus.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of shutting down the motor comprises shutting down the inverter drives of the motor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises operating a power factor correction module to regulate the power factor.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises determining the power factor to be 0.9 or greater.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises determining the power factor to be 0.98 or greater.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the pump circulates fluid through the pool or spa.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising analyzing whether the fault conditions have occurred due to the presence of a foreign object obstruction to circulating the fluid through the pool or spa.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises operating a power factor correction module to regulate the power factor to a constant value under varying pump loads.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises operating a power factor correction module to regulate the power factor and voltage to constant values under varying pump loads.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein correcting the power factor comprises operating a power factor correction module to regulate the power factor over an operational range of the motor.