PROCESS FOR MEASURING PHASE CURRENTS OF A DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING ELECTRIC MOTORS MADE WITH IMS TECHNOLOGY OR THE LIKE EMBEDDING, FOR SUCH MEASURE, RESISTANCE AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL DEVICE FOR POWER TRANSISTORS

• US 7,327,117 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2003
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ZAPI S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: ZAPI S.p.A.
• Inventors: Iotti, Maurizio
• Primary Examiner(s): DUDA, RINA I
• Application Number:
  US10/624,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20040017173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,660 Days
• Field of Search: 318798-803, 318/461, 318/432, 318/434
• US Class Current: 318/798
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/0092 measuring current only all subgroups of G01R19/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/32 Compensating for temperature change
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/04 by calorimetric methods
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

The invention is applied to the field of industrial controls for electric motors and more precisely refers to a process for measuring phase currents of an inverter or a DC controller consisting in detecting the temperature of a copper path made with IMS (Insulated Metal Substrate) technology and the like, used as shunt and that is the extension of a pre-existing adduction line towards a motor or towards the supply line or towards power devices, and in compensating through software the path drop in order to have an accurate measure of the current crossing it. A heat sensor is applied next to or over such copper path to detect its temperature. This latter one will also be assumed, with an acceptable degree of approximation, as the power transistors temperature.

Claims

1. Insulated Metal Substrate (IMS) Control device for supplying an electric motor with composing:

an inverter of at least two-phases;

an IMS metal path on at least two of the at least two phases on the inverter power circuit and in series with a motor phase;

a thermal sensor in thermal communication with the metal path to measure the temperature of the metal path and a temperature of power transistors of the control device.

2. Insulated Metal Substrate (IMS)Control device for supplying an electric motor with comprising:

a DC controller;

a metal path of the controller formed in IMS technology on a controller card and in series with a motor armature;

a thermal sensor in thermal communication with the metal path to perform the measure of its temperature.

3. Insulated Metal Substrate (IMS)Control device for supplying power to an electric motor comprising:

an integrated power module;

at least one metal path in series with at least one of power devices and an external connection terminal;

a thermal sensor in thermal communication with the metal path to measure its temperature.

4. Process for measuring the phase currents of an electric motor power supply comprising:

measuring the temperature of at least one Insulated Metal Substrate (IMS) metal path as elongation of a connection path between power or adduction devices towards outside;

compensating for a voltage drop due to thermal drift of the metal path'"'"'s resistivity through software computation; and

thereby

having the exact phase current measure.

5. Process according to claim 4 further comprising measuring the output current of a Power Semiconductor Module by measuring the temperature of at least one of an IMS metal path and a Direct Bonded Copper (DBC) metal path as elongation of a connection path between power or adduction devices towards outside and for compensating the voltage drop due to thermal drift of metal path resistivity through software computation and then having the exact phase current measure.