Electronic drive control apparatus

• US 6,661,635 B1
• Filed: 01/25/2002
• Issued: 12/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Moeller GmbH (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: Moeller GmbH (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Meid, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinkins, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US10/048,111
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 361/152, 361/154, 361/158, 361/172
• US Class Current: 361/152
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 47/325 by switching regulator

Abstract

An electronic drive control used for controlling a drive coil of a contactor during holding operation with a pulse-width modulation. The interval time for the pulse-width modulation is temporally changed or the pulse-width ratio is continuously changed. The invention may minimize the holding power in the case of high voltages without the occurrence of problems associated with EMC and without reducing the functional reliability.

Claims

1. An apparatus for electronically controlling a drive coil of a contractor in a holding mode using a pulse-width modulation, comprising:

an oscillator configured for generating an AC voltage; and

a mixer configured for superposing a periodic output signal of the oscillator with an input variable associated with an input voltage so as to generate a pulse-width signal;

wherein an interval time for the pulse-width modulation is varied in time or the pulse width ratio is continuously changed.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 further comprising a pulse-width modulator, the pulse-width modulator, the oscillator and the mixer being included in a control section, the control section having a second pulse-width signal as an output variable and having an input variable associated with the input voltage and useable as an input signal.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 further comprising:

a non-volatile data storage unit configured for storing correction factors of pulse-width modulation values as a fixed correction table; and

an analog-to-digital converter, an output value of the analog-to-digital converter being provided as an address pointer of the data storage unit;

wherein the non-volatile data storage unit and the analog-to-digital converter are included in the control section, the control section being a map-based control.

4. The circuit arrangement as recited in claim 1 wherein the generated AC voltage has a frequency substantially lower than a pulse-width frequency.

5. The circuit arrangement as recited in claim 4 wherein the frequency of the generated AC voltage is from 1 to 5 kHz in an AC operation.

6. The circuit arrangement as recited in claim 4 wherein the frequency of the generated AC voltage is from 5 to 15 kHz in a DC operation.