System and method for regenerative energy control when multiple motors share a common power supply
First Claim
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1. A system for managing energy, the system comprising:
- a DC power supply;
a DC bus connecting the DC power supply as a common power supply to first and second motors, respectively, the DC bus including a capacitive element configured to store regenerative energy that is transferred from the second motor; and
a first power electronics controller operably connected to the first motor, the first power electronics controller being configured to;
sense the regenerative energy transferred from the second motor, andcause the first motor to operate according to a decreased power factor in order to consume the regenerative energy transferred from the second motor.
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Abstract
When multiple motors (40) share a common DC power supply (10) via a bus (20), a system and method is provided for managing the effect of regenerative energy caused by a motor. The regenerative energy may be sensed, e.g., by a power electronics controller (50, 50′). In response, one or more of the other motors currently in operation may be controlled to operate according to a reduced power factor. Thus, the excess energy is consumed without adding any new components or increasing the amount of work performed in the system.
18 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for managing energy, the system comprising:
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a DC power supply; a DC bus connecting the DC power supply as a common power supply to first and second motors, respectively, the DC bus including a capacitive element configured to store regenerative energy that is transferred from the second motor; and a first power electronics controller operably connected to the first motor, the first power electronics controller being configured to; sense the regenerative energy transferred from the second motor, and cause the first motor to operate according to a decreased power factor in order to consume the regenerative energy transferred from the second motor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for managing energy supplied to a plurality of motors by a common DC power supply, the system comprising:
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a DC bus connecting the plurality of motors to the DC power supply, the DC bus including a capacitive element configured to store regenerative energy that is transferred from any of the motors as a result of deceleration; one or more power electronics controllers configured to control the plurality of motors, each power electronics controller being configured to; sense regenerative energy transferred to the DC bus from at least one of the motors; detect a motor that is not transferring the regenerative energy to the DC bus; and decrease the detected motor'"'"'s power factor in order to cause the detected motor to consume stored energy from the DC bus without increasing the actual work of the detected motor. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for managing energy in a system in which a plurality of motors share a common DC power supply via a DC bus, the DC bus including a capacitive element for storing regenerative energy transferred from the motors, the method comprising:
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sensing regenerative energy transferred to the bus from one of the plurality of motors sharing the common DC power supply; responsive to the sensed regenerative energy, selecting at least one other motor from the plurality of motors that is not a source of regenerative energy transferred to the DC bus; and operating the at least one selected motor according to a decreased power factor in order to consume stored energy from the DC bus. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification