Fault tolerant controller arrangement for electric motor driven apparatus
First Claim
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1. A fault tolerant system for driving an actuator, comprising:
- a plurality of motors coupled to the actuator for driving said actuator;
a corresponding plurality of control channels, each of which is connected to a respective motor for driving said respective motor;
each of said control channels including controller means connected to a respective motor and receiving data therefrom; and
said controller means at each motor for voting on the data at the individual channel level with each of said controller means being effective for controlling a respective channel of the plurality of channels so that each of said plurality of channels shares the load required for driving the actuator, with each of said channels in a system of n channels supplying 1/n of a required load driving force in the same direction even in the event of channel failure.
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Abstract
A fault tolerant controller arrangement for electric motor driven apparatus is implemented by a plurality of control channels, each of which includes a motor and associated drive circuitry. The implementation is such that the rating of each of the plurality of channels is reduced and all channels are operated such that the load is shared between all operating channels. The arrangement is such that all channels share the load dynamically and statically and that each channel in a system of n channels supplies 1 n of the required load driving force in the same direction.
108 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A fault tolerant system for driving an actuator, comprising:
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a plurality of motors coupled to the actuator for driving said actuator; a corresponding plurality of control channels, each of which is connected to a respective motor for driving said respective motor; each of said control channels including controller means connected to a respective motor and receiving data therefrom; and said controller means at each motor for voting on the data at the individual channel level with each of said controller means being effective for controlling a respective channel of the plurality of channels so that each of said plurality of channels shares the load required for driving the actuator, with each of said channels in a system of n channels supplying 1/n of a required load driving force in the same direction even in the event of channel failure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A fault tolerant system for driving an actuator, comprising:
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a plurality of motors coupled to the actuator for driving said actuator;
a corresponding plurality of inverters, each of which is connected to a respective motor;
a power source connected to each of the plurality of inverters, said inverters distributing power from the power source to the respective motors;
a corresponding plurality of controllers with a controller at each motor that receives data and votes on data to control motor operation, each of which is connected to a respective motor and to a respective inverter;means for applying command signals to each of said controllers at the individual channel level; and
each of said controllers being responsive to said command signals for providing data relating to the speed and position of the respective motors and for controlling said respective inverters in accordance therewith, and for providing data relating to the amplitude and direction of the respective motors and for controlling said respective motors in accordance therewith. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. A fault tolerant actuator driving method comprising:
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driving an actuator with a plurality of motors;
driving each of the plurality of motors through a controller at each motor that receives data and votes on data at the individual channel level through a respective control channel of a corresponding plurality of control channels;controlling each of the plurality of control channels for sharing an actuator driving load; and
supplying a load driving force so that each of the channels supplies 1/n of the load driving force in the same direction. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification