Brushless DC ring motor cooling system
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining a required speed of the cooling fan; and
providing first and second signals to a motor controller operatively connected to a motor having a rotatable portion connected to the cooling fan, the first signal coarsely controlling a rotational speed of the motor by adjusting a voltage level provided to the motor and the second signal finely controlling the rotational speed of the motor by pulse width modulation so that the cooling fan rotates at the required speed.
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Abstract
A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle includes determining a required speed of the cooling fan. First and second signals are provided to a motor controller operatively connected to a motor having a rotatable portion connected to the cooling fan. The first signal coarsely controls a rotational speed of the motor by adjusting a voltage level provided to the motor and the second signal finely controls the rotational speed of the motor by pulse width modulation so that the cooling fan rotates at the required speed.
64 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a required speed of the cooling fan; and
providing first and second signals to a motor controller operatively connected to a motor having a rotatable portion connected to the cooling fan, the first signal coarsely controlling a rotational speed of the motor by adjusting a voltage level provided to the motor and the second signal finely controlling the rotational speed of the motor by pulse width modulation so that the cooling fan rotates at the required speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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analyzing digital signals from a serial line of an engine control module (ECM) of the vehicle to determine a required speed of the cooling fan; and
providing first and second signals to a motor controller operatively connected to a motor having a rotatable portion connected to the cooling fan, the first signal coarsely controlling the rotational speed of the motor by adjusting a voltage level provided to the motor and the second signal finely controlling the rotational speed of the motor by pulse width modulation so that the cooling fan rotates at the required speed. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a required speed of the cooling fan;
converting low DC voltage, high current power provided by a battery of the vehicle into a high voltage, low current signal for operating a motor that drives the cooling fan, the high voltage, low current signal being adjustable over a 2-to-1 range and controlled to provide gross adjustment of a speed of the motor; and
providing the high voltage, low current signal to the motor with a control adjustment to provide fine adjustment of the speed of the motor. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operating a cooling fan in a cooling system for a vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining a required speed of the cooling fan with a control/communications system operatively connected to an engine control module (ECM) of the vehicle;
converting low DC voltage, high current power provided by a battery of the vehicle into a high voltage, low current signal for operating a motor that drives the cooling fan with a DC-to-DC converter connected to the vehicle battery under the control of signals relayed by a commutation switching segment from the control/communications system, the high voltage, low current signal being controlled to provide gross adjustment of a speed of the motor; and
finely adjusting the speed of the motor with a control adjustment to the high voltage, low current signal performed by the commutation switching segment.
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Specification