Method for monitoring and controlling traction motors in locomotives
First Claim
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1. A locomotive, comprising:
- a plurality of traction motors corresponding to a plurality of axles and a plurality of drive switches;
a plurality of free-wheeling bypass circuits, each bypass circuit bypassing a corresponding one of the plurality of plurality of drive switches; and
a controller operable to (a) determine the power requirement for each motor at each of a number of successive time intervals;
(b) determine the necessary voltage and pulse width to achieve the desired power for each motor; and
(c) sequentially pulse power to each of the motors for a duration necessary to achieve the power requirement at each successive time interval, wherein, during a selected time interval, a first traction motor receives a first power pulse and a second different traction motor receives a second power pulse and wherein the first and second power pulses are different.
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a locomotive comprising energy storage units, such as batteries, a prime energy source, such as a diesel engine, and an energy conversion device, such as a generator. The locomotive comprises one or more of the following features: a separate chopper circuit for each traction motor and a controller operable to control separately and independently each axle/traction motor.
164 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A locomotive, comprising:
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a plurality of traction motors corresponding to a plurality of axles and a plurality of drive switches;
a plurality of free-wheeling bypass circuits, each bypass circuit bypassing a corresponding one of the plurality of plurality of drive switches; and
a controller operable to (a) determine the power requirement for each motor at each of a number of successive time intervals;
(b) determine the necessary voltage and pulse width to achieve the desired power for each motor; and
(c) sequentially pulse power to each of the motors for a duration necessary to achieve the power requirement at each successive time interval, wherein, during a selected time interval, a first traction motor receives a first power pulse and a second different traction motor receives a second power pulse and wherein the first and second power pulses are different. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for operating a locomotive, comprising:
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providing a plurality of traction motors corresponding to a plurality of axles and at least one chopper circuit, the at least one chopper circuit comprising a corresponding drive circuit, the drive circuit including a corresponding drive switch and being in electrical communication with a corresponding one or more of the plurality of traction motors, and a corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit, the bypass circuit bypassing the corresponding drive switch, wherein, in a first mode, at least most of the electrical current passing through the corresponding chopper circuit passes through the corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit and corresponding one or more of the plurality of traction motors and bypasses the corresponding drive switch and, in a second mode, at least most of the electrical current passing through the corresponding chopper circuit passes through the corresponding drive switch and the corresponding one or more traction motors and bypasses the corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit; and
simultaneously operating at least one of the traction motors in the first mode and a different at least one of the traction motors in the second mode. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A locomotive, comprising:
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a plurality of traction motors corresponding to a plurality of axles and a plurality of drive switches; and
a plurality of free-wheeling bypass circuits, each bypass circuit bypassing a corresponding one of the plurality of plurality of drive switches, wherein each of the plurality of drive switches is operable to pulse power sequentially to each of the traction motors to produce a selected power requirement for each traction motor during a selected time interval, wherein the pulse width is varied depending on a measured characteristic of the respective traction motor, wherein each of the plurality of drive switches is operable to pulse power sequentially to each of the traction motors to produce a selected power requirement for each traction motor during a selected time interval, wherein the pulse width is varied depending on a measured characteristic of the respective traction motor, wherein the pulses to each of the traction motors are time sequenced such that a time separation between adjacent pulses to different traction motors is at least substantially maximized, and wherein the measured characteristic is an electrical current supplied to each traction motor. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for operating a locomotive, comprising:
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providing a plurality of traction motors corresponding to a plurality of axles and at least one chopper circuit, the at least one chopper circuit comprising a corresponding drive circuit, the drive circuit including a corresponding drive switch and being in electrical communication with a corresponding one or more of the plurality of traction motors, and a corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit, the bypass circuit bypassing the corresponding drive switch, wherein, in a first mode, at least most of the electrical current passing through the corresponding chopper circuit passes through the corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit and corresponding one or more of the plurality of traction motors and bypasses the corresponding drive switch and, in a second mode, at least most of the electrical current passing through the corresponding chopper circuit passes through the corresponding drive switch and the corresponding one or more traction motors and bypasses the corresponding free-wheeling bypass circuit; and
during a selected time interval, operating at least one of the traction motors in the first mode and a different at least one of the traction motors in the second mode, wherein the at least one chopper circuit is operable to pulse power sequentially to each of the traction motors to produce a selected power requirement for each traction motor during a selected time interval, wherein the pulse width is varied depending on the measured characteristic of the respective traction motor, wherein, for each motor, the frequency of pulses is maintained at least substantially constant, and wherein the pulses to each of the traction motors are time sequenced such that a time separation between adjacent pulses to different traction motors is at least substantially maximized. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification