Pump control system and method
First Claim
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1. A method of calibrating a pump having a motor, the pump connected to a water distribution system, the method comprising:
- operating the motor in a forward direction;
sensing a pressure in the water distribution system;
determining whether the sensed pressure has increased by a pressure increment;
increasing an operating frequency of the motor by a frequency increment if the sensed pressure has not increased by the pressure increment; and
storing a speed of the motor as a minimum calibrated speed value if the sensed pressure has increased by the pressure increment.
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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-calibration 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.
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Citations
86 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating a pump having a motor, the pump connected to a water distribution system, the method comprising:
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operating the motor in a forward direction;
sensing a pressure in the water distribution system;
determining whether the sensed pressure has increased by a pressure increment;
increasing an operating frequency of the motor by a frequency increment if the sensed pressure has not increased by the pressure increment; and
storing a speed of the motor as a minimum calibrated speed value if the sensed pressure has increased by the pressure increment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of regulating a speed of a motor in a pump, the pump connected to a water distribution system, the method comprising:
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measuring an actual pressure in the water distribution system;
determining whether the actual pressure is less than, greater than, or equal to a constant pressure setpoint;
subtracting the actual pressure from a desired pressure to determine a pressure error if the actual pressure is less than or greater than the constant pressure setpoint;
determining an integral of the pressure error;
multiplying the integral by an integral gain to determine a first value;
multiplying the pressure error by a proportional gain to determine a second value;
summing the first value and the second value; and
generating an updated speed control command based on the sum of the first value and the second value. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of operating a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a bus current being provided to the motor;
determining whether the bus current is greater than a limp current limit setting;
reducing at least one of an output voltage provided to the motor and an operating frequency of the motor if the bus current is greater than the limp current limit setting in order to drive the motor in a limp mode; and
shutting down the motor if the motor does not operate within operational limits while being driven in the limp mode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of operating a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a bus voltage being provided to the motor;
determining whether the bus voltage is less than a programmed threshold;
reducing at least one of an output voltage provided to the motor and an operating frequency of the motor if the bus voltage is less than the programmed threshold in order to drive the motor in a limp mode; and
shutting down the motor if the motor does not operate within operational limits while being driven in the limp mode. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of operating a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a line current;
determining whether the line current is greater than a programmed threshold;
reducing at least one of an output voltage provided to the motor and an operating frequency of the motor if the line current is less than the programmed threshold in order to drive the motor in a limp mode; and
shutting down the motor if the motor does not operate within operational limits while being driven in the limp mode. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of operating a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a temperature of a heat sink;
determining whether the temperature is greater than a limp temperature limit setting;
reducing at least one of an output voltage provided to the motor and an operating frequency of the motor if the temperature is greater than the limp temperature limit setting in order to drive the motor in a limp mode; and
shutting down the motor if the motor does not operate within operational limits while being driven in the limp mode. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a bus voltage being provided to the motor;
generating a fault condition code if the bus voltage is greater than an upper limit or less than a lower limit;
shutting down a drive to the motor for a time period; and
restarting the drive to the motor after the time period has elapsed. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39)
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40. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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measuring a bus current being provided to the motor;
generating a fault condition code if the bus current is greater than a bus current upper limit setting;
shutting down a drive to the motor for a time period; and
restarting the drive to the motor after the time period has elapsed. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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sensing a first bus current value;
starting a timer if the first bus current value is less than a pre-set threshold;
sensing a second bus current value after a pre-set time period has elapsed;
determining whether a drive to the motor is operating at a full speed;
generating a fault condition code if the second bus current value is also less than the pre-set threshold and if the drive to the motor is operating at the full speed;
shutting down the drive to the motor for a time period; and
restarting the drive to the motor after the time period has elapsed. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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sensing a first temperature value of a heat sink;
generating a fault condition code if the first temperature value is greater than a temperature upper limit;
shutting down a drive to the motor;
sensing a second temperature value of the heat sink; and
attempting to restart the drive to the motor if the second temperature value is less than a limp mode temperature limit. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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sensing a first bus current value;
sensing a speed of the motor;
incrementing a counter and setting a timer if the first bus current value is greater than a bus current upper limit and if the speed of the motor is greater than or equal to a high speed limit;
attempting to operate the motor in a reverse direction if the counter has been incremented above an increment limit within a first time period;
sensing a second bus current value while the motor is operating in the reverse direction;
operating the motor in the reverse direction for a second time period if the second bus current value is less than the bus current upper limit and attempting to operate the motor in a forward direction once the second time period has elapsed; and
generating a fault condition code and shutting down a drive to the motor if the second bus current value is greater than the bus current upper limit. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59)
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60. A method of detecting a fault condition in a motor of a pump, the method comprising:
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sensing a first line current value;
sensing a speed of the motor;
attempting to operate the motor in a reverse direction if the first line current value is greater than a programmed threshold and if the speed of the motor is less than a motor speed low threshold;
sensing a second line current value while the motor is operating in the reverse direction;
generating a fault condition code and shutting down a drive to the motor if the second line current value is also greater than the programmed threshold; and
operating the motor in the reverse direction for a time period if the second line current value is less than the programmed threshold and attempting to operate the motor in a forward direction after the time period has elapsed. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62, 63)
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64. A method of detecting a pressure sensor failure in a water distribution system, the water distribution system connected to a pump with a motor, the method comprising:
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detecting a first pressure sensor signal;
shutting down a drive to the motor if the pressure sensor signal is outside of a sense range;
attempting to detect a second pressure sensor signal after power has be reapplied to the drive; and
allowing the drive to remain shut down until a second pressure signal is detected. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A method of operating a pressure sensor in a water distribution system, the water distribution system connected to a pump with a motor, the method comprising:
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detecting a pressure sensor signal;
disabling a power supply connected to the pressure sensor if the pressure sensor signal indicates that the power supply is shorted; and
generating a fault condition code and shutting down a drive to the motor if the shorted power supply is a selected sensor input for the pressure sensor. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71)
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72. A method of monitoring fault conditions occurring in a water distribution system, the method comprising:
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sensing a new fault condition occurring in the water distribution system;
generating a fault condition code and incrementing a counter;
determining whether the counter has been incremented above an increment limit;
storing the new fault condition code over one of a plurality of old fault condition codes if the counter has been incremented above an increment limit;
storing the new fault condition code in a new memory location if the counter has not been incremented above an increment limit; and
retrieving the new fault condition code and the plurality of old fault condition codes. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76)
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77. A pump control system for use with a pump in one of a pool system and a spa system, the pump control system comprising:
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a controller connected to a motor of the pump; and
a switch connected to the controller, the switch being connected to at least one of a guard and a grate in one of the pool system and the spa system, the switch providing a run/stop input when at least one of the guard and the grate are removed, the run/stop input causing the controller to automatically disable the motor. - View Dependent Claims (78, 79)
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80. A pump controller for use with a pump having a motor, the pump connected to a water distribution system, the pump controller comprising:
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a digital signal processor, the digital signal processor programmed to perform a self-calibration procedure, to operate the motor in a limp mode, and to detect fault conditions in the water distribution system; and
a microcontroller that communicates with the digital signal processor, the microcontroller programmed to receive inputs from sensors in the water distribution system and to coordinate serial communications.
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81. A pump controller for use with a pump having a motor, the pump controller connected to an AC bus line, the pump controller comprising:
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an internal fuse removably connected to the AC bus line, the internal fuse being replaceable in order to configure the pump controller for operation with one of a single-phase 115 volt input and a single-phase 230 volt input from the AC bus line; and
a digital signal processor connected to the internal fuse, the digital signal processor programmed to control three-phase output power provided to the motor from one of the single-phase 115 volt input and the single-phase 230 volt input. - View Dependent Claims (82)
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83. A pump system connected to a water distribution system, the pump system comprising:
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a pump having a motor, the motor operating according to one of a plurality of Voltage/Hertz curves; and
a controller connected to the motor, the controller being programmable by a user to operate the motor according to the one of the plurality of Voltage/Hertz curves. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86)
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Specification