Control loop and method for variable speed drive ride-through capability improvement

• US 6,686,718 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2001
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: York International Corporation (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: York International Corporation (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Jadric, Ivan, Schnetzka, Harold
• Primary Examiner(s): FLETCHER, MARLON T
• Application Number:
  US09/993,638
• Publication Number:
  US 20030098668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 318/727, 318/798-802, 318/805, 318/812, 318/375, 318/380, 318/479
• US Class Current: 318/801
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0022 the disturbance parameters being input voltage fluctuations
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 5/458 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/53873 with digital control

Abstract

A variable speed drive (VSD) having a rectifier, an inverter, an inverter modulator, an inverter controller, and a control loop, for controlling a motor load, wherein the control loop reduces an amount of power transferred to the inverter during a voltage sag. The control loop may include a reference generator, a filter, a regulator, and a ride-through corrective algorithm. A method for controlling a VSD to improve voltage sag ride-through by monitoring a voltage applied to the VSD, generating a control signal representative of losses in a motor load when a voltage sag is detected in the voltage applied to the VSD and applying less power to the load of the inverter.

Claims

1. A variable speed drive comprising:

a rectifier configured to receive AC power from a power source and output DC power;

a DC link configured to receive DC power output from the rectifier, to store some amount of DC energy, and to output DC power;

an inverter configured to receive DC power output from the DC link and convert the power back to AC power and output the AC power to a motor load;

an inverter controller operatively connected to the inverter and configured to send gating signals to the inverter;

a voltage sensor configured to sense voltage applied to the rectifier and provide that sensed voltage to the inverter controller; and

a sensor configured to sense at least one of power, current, and voltage of output from at least one of the DC link and the inverter and provide that sensed information into the inverter controller, and wherein said inverter controller sends modified gating signals that reduce the power transferred from the inverter to the motor, when the voltage sensor senses a voltage sag.

2. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the DC link is capacitive.

3. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the DC link is both inductive and capacitive.

4. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the amount of power transferred to the inverter during a voltage sag approximately corresponds to an amount of power losses associated with the motor load.

5. The variable speed drive of claim 1 wherein the inverter control is a computer.

6. The variable speed drive of claim 1 wherein the inverter control is a microprocessor.

7. The variable speed drive of claim 1 wherein the inverter control is a control loop.

8. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the rectifier is an active rectifier.

9. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the rectifier is a passive rectifier.

10. The variable speed drive of claim 9, wherein the rectifier comprises a three-phase diode bridge.

11. The variable speed drive of claim 1, wherein the inverter comprises semiconductor switches in three-phase bridge configuration.

12. The variable speed drive of claim 11, wherein the inverter comprises 6 semiconductor switches in three-phase bridge configuration.

13. A variable speed drive comprising:

a rectifier configured to receive AC power from a power source and output DC power;

a DC link configured to receive DC power output from the rectifier, to store some amount of DC energy, and to output DC power;

an inverter to receive DC power output from the DC link and convert the power back to AC power and output the AC power to a motor load;

an inverter controller operatively connected to the inverter and configured to send gating signals to the inverter;

a voltage sensor configured to sense voltage applied to the rectifier and provide that sensed voltage to the inverter controller; and

a sensor configured to sense at least one of power, current, and voltage of output from at least one of the DC link and the inverter and provide that sensed information into the inverter controller, and wherein said inverter controller sends modified gating signals that reduce the power transferred from the inverter to the motor, when the voltage sensor senses a voltage sag,

wherein the inverter control is a control loop including;

a reference generator operatively connected to the voltage sensor and configured to generate a reference signal;

a filter operatively connected to the DC power sensor;

a difference block operatively connected to the reference generator and the filter to subtract a filtered signal from the reference signal; and

a regulator operatively connected to the output of the difference block, the regulator configured to generate a regulated signal.

14. The variable speed drive of claim 13, wherein the control loop further comprises a limiter for limiting a signal from the regulator and inputting the limited signal to a corrective algorithm within the control.

15. The variable speed drive of claim 13, where at least one of the reference generator, filter, regulator, and ride-through corrective algorithm include analog circuits.

16. The variable speed drive of claim 13, where at least one of the reference generator, filter, regulator, and ride-through corrective algorithm include software.

17. The variable speed drive of claim 13, wherein the reference generator sets a ride-through control loop reference signal that saturates the control loop and renders it inoperative when no voltage sag is detected, and the reference generator sets the ride-through control loop reference signal representative of losses associated with the motor load, when a voltage sag is detected.

18. The variable speed drive of claim 13, wherein the filter is a low pass filter.

19. The variable speed drive of claim 13, wherein the filter is a moving average filter with an adjustable averaging window.

20. A method for controlling a variable speed drive for a load, the drive including a rectifier, DC link, inverter, and an inverter control, the method comprising:

monitoring a voltage applied to the rectifier;

monitoring at least one of power, voltage, and current output from the DC link or the inverter;

controlling the inverter to provide approximately full transfer of power from the rectifier to the load as long as the voltage to the rectifier remains within a preselected range; and

controlling the inverter to provide significantly lower power to the load, whenever the voltage to the rectifier falls below the preselected range.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the inverter is controlled as a function of the monitored voltage to rectifier and the monitored at least one of power, voltage, and current output of the DC link or the inverter.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the load is a motor and the significantly lowered power to the load is approximately equal to the amount of power loss associated with the motor.

23. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of:

generating a reference signal as a function of the monitored voltage to the rectifier and subtracting from the reference signal a signal that is a function of the monitored at least one of power, voltage, and current output from the DC link or the inverter; and

controlling the inverter based on the new signal.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising filtering a signal representing the power applied to the inverter.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the reference signal is representative of the losses associated with a motor load.