Motor controller

• US 6,198,240 B1
• Filed: 04/02/1998
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ishii, Makoto, Notohara, Yasuo, Tahara, Kazuo, Kawabata, Yukio, Takakura, Yuhachi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ro, Bentsu
• Application Number:
  US09/043,876
• Time in Patent Office: 1,069 Days
• Field of Search: 318/138, 318/254, 318/438, 318/459, 318/500, 318/720, 318/721, 318/722, 318/723, 318/724, 318/268, 363/34, 363/37
• US Class Current: 318/268
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00828 Ventilators, e.g. speed control B60H1/00864 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/458 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 2201/09 Boost converter, i.e. DC-DC step up converter increasing the voltage between the supply and the inverter driving the motor general aspects of plural converters in cascade H02M
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/08 with pulse width modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/045 whereby the speed is regulated by measuring the motor speed and comparing it with a given physical value

Abstract

A motor controller is made up of a power supply circuit rectifying an AC power supply for outputting desired DC voltages while, at the same time, improving the power factor of the AC power supply, and a motor drive circuit for driving a motor. The controller has a rectifier circuit for converting AC power to a DC voltage and a smoothing circuit, a converter circuit constituted of a chopper circuit for controlling the DC voltage by utilizing a switching operation and the energy storing effect of an inductance, a motor drive device made up of an inverter circuit connected to the output of the converter circuit to control a motor, a converter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of the chopper circuit, an inverter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of the inverter circuit thereby driving the motor, a speed detector circuit for detecting a position of the rotor of the motor for calculating the speed of the motor, a speed control circuit receiving the calculated speed value and a speed command value for controlling the motor speed through the inverter circuit, and a DC voltage control circuit receiving the output signal of the speed control circuit for controlling the DC voltage through the converter control circuit in accordance with the output signal. The DC voltage control circuit, when the output of the speed control circuit reaches a predetermined value, outputs a signal to cause the DC voltage to increase or decrease to the converter control circuit. The output of the speed control circuit is a duty ratio signal or a speed deviation signal representing a deviation of the calculated speed value from the speed command value.

Claims

1. An electric device comprising:

a motor;

a compressor driven by said motor; and

a control device that controls said motor in accordance with a state of a load of said motor;

wherein said control device changes a first DC voltage for said motor into a second DC voltage for said motor when a number of revolutions of said motor becomes a predetermined state in accordance with the state of the load of said motor.

2. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein said electric device is an inverter air conditioner.

3. An electric device according to claim 1, wherein said control device includes an inverter which is always pulse width modulation controlled.

4. An electric device comprising:

a motor;

a compressor driven by said motor; and

a control device that controls said motor in accordance with a state of a load of said motor;

wherein said control device changes a first DC voltage for said motor into a second DC voltage for said motor when a duty ratio of said motor becomes a predetermined state in accordance with the state of the load of said motor.

5. An electric device according to claim 4, wherein said electric device is an inverter air conditioner.

6. An electric device according to claim 4, wherein said control device includes an inverter which is always pulse width modulation controlled.

7. A motor controller comprising:

a converter circuit including a rectifier circuit for converting AC power to a DC voltage, a smoothing circuit, and a chopper circuit for controlling said DC voltage by utilizing a switching operation and the energy storing effect of an inductance;

a motor drive device including an inverter circuit connected to the output of said converter circuit for controlling a motor;

a converter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said chopper circuit;

an inverter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said inverter circuit for driving said motor;

a speed detector circuit for detecting a position of the rotor of said motor for calculating the speed value of said motor;

a speed control circuit responsive to said calculated speed value and a speed command value for performing speed control of said motor through said inverter control circuit; and

a DC voltage control circuit responsive to the output signal of said speed control circuit for controlling said DC voltage through said converter control circuit;

wherein said DC voltage control circuit, when the output of said speed control circuit reaches a predetermined value, outputs a signal to said converter control circuit to cause said DC voltage to increase in accordance with a state of a load of said motor.

8. A motor controller according to claim 7, wherein said inverter circuit is always controlled by pulse width modulation control.

9. Motor controller comprising:

a converter circuit including a rectifier circuit for converting AC power to a DC voltage, a smoothing circuit, and a chopper circuit for controlling said DC voltage by utilizing a switching operation and the energy storing effect of an inductance;

a motor drive device including an inverter circuit connected to the output of said converter circuit for controlling a motor;

a converter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said chopper circuit;

an inverter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said inverter circuit for driving said motor;

a speed detector circuit for detecting a position of the rotor of said motor for calculating the speed value of said motor;

a speed control circuit responsive to said calculated speed value and a speed command value for performing speed control of said motor through said inverter control circuit;

a DC voltage control circuit responsive to the output signal of said speed control circuit for controlling said DC voltage through said converter control circuit; and

a DC voltage pulsation correcting circuit for detecting pulsating components of said DC voltage for changing the input signal to said inverter control circuit in accordance with the pulsating components.

10. A motor controller comprising:

a converter circuit including a rectifier circuit for converting AC power to a DC voltage, a smoothing circuit, and a chopper circuit for controlling said DC voltage by utilizing a switching operation and the energy storing effect of an inductance;

a motor drive device including an inverter circuit connected to the output of said converter circuit for controlling a motor;

a converter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said chopper circuit;

an inverter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said inverter circuit for driving said motor;

a speed detector circuit for detecting a position of the rotor of said motor for calculating the speed value of said motor;

a speed control circuit responsive to said calculated speed value and a speed command value for supplying said inverter control circuit with a duty ratio signal to cause the speed deviation to approach zero; and

a DC voltage control circuit connected to receive said duty ratio signal, and including a DC voltage command value generator circuit for generating a DC voltage command value and a DC voltage detector circuit for detecting a DC voltage corresponding to the output of said converter circuit, a selector circuit for selecting the DC voltage command value or the DC voltage detection value so that said duty ratio signal takes on a value within a predetermined range, and a circuit for generating a current command value to cause the deviation of the DC voltage detection value from the DC voltage command value to approach zero and for outputting the current command value to said converter circuit.

11. A motor controller according to claim 10, wherein said speed control circuit further outputs a signal representing said speed deviation and inputs the same to said DC voltage control circuit.

12. A motor controller according to claim 10, wherein said DC voltage control circuit, when said duty ratio signal reaches the upper limit value or the lower limit value of said predetermined range, generates a current command value for increasing or decreasing said DC voltage.

13. A motor controller according to claim 10, further comprising a DC voltage pulsation correcting circuit for detecting pulsating components of said DC voltage, for generating a correcting duty ratio signal by multiplying said duty ratio signal by a pulsating signal in opposite phase to said pulsating components, and for inputting the same to said inverter control circuit.

14. An inverter air conditioner having:

a rectifier circuit for converting AC power to a DC voltage and a smoothing circuit;

a power factor improving circuit including a step-up chopper circuit for controlling said DC voltage and controlling the power factor of the power supply to effect improvement thereof by utilizing a switching operation and the energy storing effect of an inductance;

a motor drive device including an inverter circuit connected to the output of said power factor improving circuit for controlling a motor;

a chopper control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said step-up chopper circuit;

an inverter control circuit for controlling the switching operation of said inverter circuit for driving the motor; and

a speed control circuit for controlling the speed of said motor by using said inverter control circuit in accordance with a speed command value coming from a temperature control circuit of said air conditioner, said inverter air conditioner comprising a DC voltage control circuit detecting the output signal of said speed control circuit for causing the DC voltage to rise when said output signal reaches a predetermined upper limit value and causing the DC voltage to fall when the output signal reaches a predetermined lower limit value.

15. An inverter air conditioner according to claim 14, wherein the output signal of said speed control circuit is a duty ratio signal.