Method and apparatus for failsafe monitoring an electromotive drive

• US 8,294,410 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2010
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Original Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Inventors: Ams, Mathias
• Primary Examiner(s): Benson, Walter
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carrasquillo, Jorge
• Application Number:
  US12/897,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20110084643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 318/798, 318/461, 318/489, 318/490, 318/609, 318/138, 318/524, 318/700, 318/808, 318/811, 318/439, 318/449, 318/801, 318/800, 318/799, 318/807, 318/727, 388/911, 702/115, 702/185
• US Class Current: 318/798
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 23/12 Observer control, e.g. using Luenberger observers or Kalman filters
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/02 Providing protection against overload without automatic interruption of supply protection against faults of stepper motors H02P8/36

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for the failsafe monitoring of an electromotive drive without additional sensors, including a drive having a three-phase control of an electric motor, detection of the current and voltage profiles of each of the three phases, as they are forwarded to the motor by drive electronics, determination of the load speed while using the detected current and voltage values, where the determination of the load speed takes place by calculating an observer model with reference to the detected current, to the detected voltage, to the frequency preset by the control and to the characteristic data of the motor and generation of a failsafe switch signal for the motor when the calculated load speed does not correspond to a preset desired speed within the framework of preset tolerances. The load torque can also be determined and monitored with reference to the observer model.

Claims

1. A method for failsafe monitoring of a motor (10) with a three-phase control comprising the steps:

detecting current and voltage profiles, as provided to a motor (10) by drive electronics (12);

determining a load speed (n_L) of the motor (10) using the delected current and voltage profiles; and

failsafe switching off of the motor (10) when the determined load speed (n_L) does not correspond to a preset desired speed within a framework of preset tolerances;

wherein determining the load speed (n_L) takes place by calculating an observer model with reference to the detected current profile (I_mess, I_eff), to the detected voltage profile (U_mess, U_eff), to a frequency (f_FU, f_sync) preset by the three-phase control and characteristic data of the motor (10);

wherein the motor is an asynchronous motor and determining the load speed takes place with reference to the formula;

n =n_syn(1−

s)

wherein n_sync is the synchronous speed and s is the slip; and

wherein a tilting torque (M_k) and a tilting slip (s_k)is calculated from characteristic data of the motor (10) and the load torque (M_L) is determined together with the slip (s) and the failsafe switching off takes place on exceeding a limit value.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the load torque (M_L) is determined from the detected current (I _mess) and the characteristic data for the nominal torque (M_n) and for the nominal current (I_n) and the failsafe switching off takes place on exceeding a limit value.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the slip is calculated from the detected current and voltage profiles, rotor resistance and leakage inductance.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the load speed determination takes place with reference to the formula

n_L=f_FU*60s/min.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the calculation of the observer model takes place in a microprocessor (22, 24) and the detected current and voltage profiles are adapted for a microprocessor evaluation.

6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the voltages and currents of all three phases are detected and the third voltage and the third current respectively is determined from the respective voltages and currents in accordance with Σ

U=0 and Σ

I=0 respectively and exceeding the limit value comprises deviations of a calculated value from the corresponding measured value.

7. The method in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that a motor or a generator operating mode is recognized via a phase angle between the detected current and voltage profiles.

8. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the direction of rotation is determined from the phase sequence of the three phases (U, V, W) and exceeding the limit value comprises a deviation from a desired direction of rotation.

9. An apparatus for the failsafe monitoring of a motor (10) with a three-phase control of an electric motor, the apparatus comprising:

means (20) for detecting current and voltage profiles of each of the three phases (U, V, W) as provided to the motor (10) by drive electronics (12);

means (26) for determining a load speed (n_L) of the motor while using the detected current and voltage profiles (I_mess), (U_mess;

I_eff, U_eff);

wherein the determination of the load speed (n_L) takes place by calculating an observer model with reference to the detected current profile, to the detected voltage profile, to a frequency (f_FU) preset by the three-phase control and to characteristic data of the motor (10);

means (28) for generating a failsafe switching signal (30) for the motor (10) when the calculated load speed (n_L) does not correspond to a preset desired speed within a framework of preset tolerances; and

wherein the apparatus further comprises two redundant microprocessors (22, 24) being provided on which diverse algorithms run.

10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein the apparatus has means (20) for adapting the detected current and voltage signals to the microprocessor evaluation.

11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein means (38) for determining the load torque (M_L) are provided which determine the load torque (M_L) from the detected current (Imess, Ieff) and from the detected voltage (Umess, Ueff) and from the characteristic data and a failsafe switching off takes place on exceeding a limit value.

12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein the means (20) for detecting the current and voltage profiles detect all three phases (U, V, W) and means (34) for consistency checking of the voltages and currents are provided with which the third voltage and the third current respectively can be calculated from two respective voltages and two respective currents in accordance with Σ

U=0 and Σ

I=0 respectively and the failsafe switching signal takes place on deviations of a calculated value from the corresponding measured value.

13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein means (40) are provided for recognizing the operating mode to recognize whether a motor or a generator operating mode is present.

14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein means (36) for determining the direction of rotation are provided which determine the direction of rotation from the phase sequence of the three phases (U, V, W) and a failsafe switching off takes place on a deviation from a desired direction of rotation.

15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein the means (20) for detecting the current and voltage profiles detect all three phases (U, V, W) and means (34) for consistency checking of the voltages and currents are provided with which the third voltage and the third current respectively can be calculated from two respective voltages and two respective currents in accordance with Σ

U=0 and Σ

I=0 respectively and the failsafe switching signal takes place on deviations of a calculated value from the corresponding measured value.

16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9 wherein means (40) are provided for recognizing the operating mode to recognize whether a motor or a generator operating mode is present.

17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 9, wherein means (36) for determining the direction of rotation are provided which determine the direction of rotation from the phase sequence of the three phases (U, V, W) and a failsafe switching off takes place on a deviation from a desired direction of rotation.