Solar circulation pump and method for controlling a solar circulation pump, for controlling the starting of and for setting the performance of a solar circulation pump

• US 7,619,382 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc. (ITT, Inc.)
• Inventors: Laing, Oliver
• Primary Examiner(s): Masih; Karen
• Application Number:
  US11/728,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20070285039A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 318/400.21, 318/400.22, 318/400.01, 318/400.17, 318/599, 388/804, 388/811
• US Class Current: 318/400.21
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0245 responsive to a condition of the pump
• CPC Class Codes: F24D 2200/14 Solar energy
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 29/026 the fault being a power fluctuation
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 6/22 in a selected direction of rotation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/20 Solar thermal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 10/70 Hybrid systems, e.g. uninterruptible or back-up power supplies integrating renewable energies
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

To provide a solar circulation pump for connection to a photovoltaic panel device, comprising an electric motor which is electronically commutated and has a control device for supplying a periodic commutation signal, it is proposed that the control device be so configured that the commutation signal is varied with respect to the ratio of switch-on time to switch-off time.

Claims

1. Solar circulation pump for connection to a photovoltaic panel device, comprising:

an electric motor which is electronically commutated and which has a control device for supplying a periodic commutation signal and a rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation; and

a measuring device for determining a rotational speed of the rotor or a magnitude that characterizes the rotational speed;

wherein;

the control device is so configured that the commutation signal is varied with respect to a ratio of switch-on time to switch-off time;

the control device comprises a control circuit in which the rotational speed of the rotor of the electric motor is a controlled magnitude, and the ratio of switch-on time and switch-off time in the commutation signal is a control quantity, and

a control aim for the controlled magnitude is maximization of the rotational speed.

2. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the commutation signal is continuously variable.

3. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein a variation of the commutation signal in at least one of its shape and its amplitude is provided.

4. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the variation of the commutation signal with respect to switch-on time and switch-off time takes place on a time scale which is very much larger than a period of the commutation signal.

5. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 4, wherein the variation of the commutation signal with respect to switch-on time and switch-off time takes place on a time scale lying in an order of magnitude of greater than one tenth of a second.

6. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the variation of the ratio of switch-on time and switch-off time takes place in the commutation signal by steps of increasing or decreasing the ratio.

7. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the measuring device is formed by an integrated position transducer of the electric motor.

8. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein a power measuring device is provided for the electric motor.

9. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control circuit is integrated into the electric motor.

10. Solar circulation pump in accordance with the claim 1, further comprising:

determining with the control device whether sufficient electrical energy is available for at least one of aligning and subsequently starting the rotor of the electric motor.

11. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 10, wherein a buffer store for electrical energy is associated with the electric motor.

12. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 11, wherein the buffer store is integrated into the solar circulation pump.

13. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 11, wherein the buffer store is integrated into the electric motor.

14. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 11, wherein the buffer store is arranged between a motor electronics assembly of the electric motor and the photovoltaic panel device.

15. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 14, wherein the buffer store is arranged between the motor electronics assembly and an electric connection for the photovoltaic panel device.

16. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein a time slot between aligning the rotor and starting the electric motor is prescribable by the control device.

17. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 10, wherein the electric motor comprises a plurality of coils, and the control device is configured to apply a load to one of the coils in order to check whether sufficient electrical energy is available for at least one of aligning the rotor and starting the electric motor.

18. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 17, wherein the load is applied in such a way that no movement of the rotor of the electric motor takes place.

19. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 17, wherein the load is applied to the coil by the control device after an initialization procedure before aligning the rotor of the electric motor.

20. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control device comprises a setting device by means of which a bottom limit for applying voltage to the electric motor is settable in a fixed manner.

21. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 20, wherein a throttling of a performance of the solar circulation pump is settable by the setting device.

22. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 20, wherein the bottom limit for applying voltage is settable in a fractional range of a maximum no-load voltage of the photovoltaic panel device by the setting device.

23. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 22, wherein the fractional range lies between at least 50% and at the most 95% of the maximum no-load voltage.

24. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the electric motor is a brushless DC motor.

25. Solar circulation pump in accordance with claim 1, wherein the electric motor comprises a permanent-magnetic rotor or a permanent-magnetic stator.

26. Solar circulation pump for connection to a photovoltaic panel device, comprising:

an electric motor which is electronically commutated and has a control device for supplying a periodic commutation signal; and

a buffer store for storing electrical energy for at least one of aligning a rotor of the electric motor and starting the electric motor;

wherein the control device checks whether sufficient electrical energy is available from the buffer store for the at least one of aligning and subsequently starting the rotor of the electric motor and does not initiate starting of the electric motor in the event that insufficient electrical energy is detected.