Electric machine assembly with fail-safe arrangement
First Claim
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1. An electric machine assembly with fail-safe arrangement, the assembly comprising:
- a stator including a plurality of windings and a cooperating rotor including at least one permanent magnet;
a multi-phase bridge connected to the phase windings;
a detector configured to detect a failure in the multi-phase bridge by detecting a presence of DC current in at least one of the windings of the stator during operation of the electric machine; and
a bypass circuit configured to be activated by a switching device upon detection of the failure in the multi-phase bridge by the detector and configured to prevent at least some of the DC current from flowing into the at least one of the windings of the stator.
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Abstract
An electric machine assembly with fail-safe arrangement is described. The assembly comprises a stator including a plurality of windings and a cooperating rotor including at least one permanent magnet; a detector configured to detect DC current in at least one of the windings of the stator; and a bypass circuit configured to be activated upon detection of the DC current by the detector and to prevent at least some of the DC current from flowing into the at least one of the windings of the stator.
110 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An electric machine assembly with fail-safe arrangement, the assembly comprising:
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a stator including a plurality of windings and a cooperating rotor including at least one permanent magnet; a multi-phase bridge connected to the phase windings; a detector configured to detect a failure in the multi-phase bridge by detecting a presence of DC current in at least one of the windings of the stator during operation of the electric machine; and a bypass circuit configured to be activated by a switching device upon detection of the failure in the multi-phase bridge by the detector and configured to prevent at least some of the DC current from flowing into the at least one of the windings of the stator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An electric machine assembly for use with a gas turbine engine, the assembly comprising:
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a stator including a plurality of phase windings and a cooperating rotor including at least one permanent magnet; a detector configured to detect a failure of a bridge connected to the phase windings via line connections during operation of the electric machine, the detection of the failure of the bridge comprising a detection of a presence of DC current in one of the phase windings; and a bypass circuit comprising a normally-open contactor configured to be actuated by a switching device and short-circuit the line connections upon detection of the failure of the bridge by the detector. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for controlling a permanent magnet machine in the event of a failure of a bridge associated with the machine, wherein the machine comprises a stator including a plurality of phase windings and a cooperating rotor including at least one permanent magnet, the method comprising:
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detecting the failure of the bridge during operation of the permanent magnet machine where detecting the failure comprises detecting a presence of DC current in one of the phase windings; and upon detection of the failure of the bridge, closing a normally-open contactor by the actuation of a switching device to establish a short circuit between line connections of the phase windings. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification