This application claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 202210363021.4, filed Apr. 2, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Brushless DC (BLDC) motors are characterized by low noise, high efficiency, long lifetime, and high stability because no brush and commutator is needed. Thus, they are widely used in industrial fans, house appliances, pumps, and etc. At the power on process or startup of the motor, typically the rotor has a certain rotation speed due to environmental disturbances. A detection of the rotation direction is needed to ensure safe operation.
Prior art uses two hall sensors to detect the original direction of the rotation. As shown in
However, the usage of two hall sensors brings complicated wiring and high cost.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a brushless DC motor system is discussed. The BLDC motor system comprises: a power stage, a hall sensor and a logical control circuit. The power stage is configured to receive an input voltage, to convert the input voltage to an energy required by a motor. The motor has a rotor and a stator. The hall sensor is configured to sense a variation of a magnetic field caused by a rotation of the rotor, to generate a sense signal. The logical control circuit comprises: a comparing circuit, a phase detector and a logic unit. The comparing circuit is configured to compare a reference voltage with a feedback voltage indicative of a back electromotive force across the stator, to generate a compare signal. The phase detector is configured to detect an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal, to generate an initial rotation signal. The logic unit is configured to choose a forward rotation logic or a reverse rotation logic in response to the initial rotation signal, to control the operation of the power stage.
In addition, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an initial rotation direction judging method used in a brushless DC motor system is discussed. The motor has a rotor and a stator. The method comprises: sensing a variation of a magnetic field caused by a rotation of the rotor, to generate a sense signal; comparing a back electromotive force across the stator with a reference voltage, to generate a compare signal; detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal, to generate an initial rotation signal; and choosing a forward startup logic or a reverse startup logic in response to the initial rotation signal.
Furthermore, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a logical control circuit used in a brushless DC motor system is discussed. The motor system has a power stage converting an input voltage to an output voltage, and a hall sensor configured to generate a sense signal by sensing a variation of a magnetic field caused by a rotation of a rotor. The logical control circuit comprises: a comparing circuit, configured to compare a reference voltage with a feedback voltage indicative of a back electromotive force across a stator, to generate a compare signal; a phase detector, configured to detect an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal, to generate an initial rotation signal; and a logic unit, configured to choose a forward rotation logic or a reverse rotation logic in response to the initial rotation signal, to control the operation of the power stage.
Embodiments of circuits for brushless DC motor are described in detail herein. In the following description, some specific details, such as example circuits for these circuit components, are included to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc.
The following embodiments and aspects are illustrated in conjunction with circuits and methods that are meant to be exemplary and illustrative. In various embodiments, the above problem has been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the overlap degree between the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP indicates an in-phase degree between the two signals.
The term “in-phase” may refer to a condition when the two signals are both in high level or both in low level, i.e., the two signals have the same phase. The term “in-phase degree” may refer to a ratio of a time period that the two signals have the same level to half of an electrical cycle. If the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP are fully in the same phase, i.e., their falling edges and rising edges align with each other, the in-phase degree is 100%. If the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP are fully out of the phase, i.e., the falling edge of one signal between the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP just aligns with the rising edge of the other signal between the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP, the in-phase degree is 0%. If the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP have overlap with each other, the in-phase degree is between 0%-100%. In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical cycle may refer to a cycle of the sense signal VH generated by the hall sensor, i.e., the time that the sense signal VH varies in one cycle.
In one embodiment of the present invention, if the in-phase degree of the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP is relatively high, the motor has an initial forward rotation. On the contrary, if the in-phase degree of the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP is relatively low, the motor has an initial reverse rotation.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the initial rotation refers to a natural rotation caused by environmental factors (e.g., a natural wind, or a rotation from a nearby fan).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the power stage 201 comprises a full bridge circuit. Specifically, the power stage 201 comprises: a first switch S1 and a second switch S2, series coupled between the input voltage Vin and a reference ground; and a third switch S3 and a fourth switch S4, series coupled between the input voltage Vin and the reference ground. The motor 202 is coupled between a first switch node SW1 and a second switch node SW2. The first switch node SW1 is formed by a common connection of the first switch S1 and the second switch S2. The second switch node SW2 is formed by a common connection of the third switch S3 and the fourth switch S4. During normal operation of the system, when the hall sense signal VH indicates the magnetic field is positive, the first switch S1 and the second switch S2 are turned on alternatively, while the third switch S3 maintains to be OFF and the fourth switch S4 maintains to be ON. When the hall sense signal VH indicates the magnetic field is negative, the third switch S3 and the fourth switch S4 are turned on alternatively, while the first switch S1 maintains to be OFF and the second switch S2 maintains to be ON. Then, an output voltage is generated between the first switch node SW1 and the second switch node SW2.
In one embodiment of the present invention, if the motor has an initial forward rotation direction, the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP would be in the same phase. Theoretically, if the hall sensor 203 is mounted at a place right in line with the back electromotive force across the stator 22, the high level (or the low level) of the sense signal VH would have a same time period as the high level (or the low level) of the compare signal CMP, that is, T1=T2. If the motor has an initial reverse rotation direction, the sense signal VH is complementary to the compare signal CMP. Then T2=0, and T2<T1.
In real applications, the hall sensor 203 is typically mounted at a place shifted with the motor with a certain angle, e.g., with 15 degrees. Thus, if the motor has an initial forward rotation direction, the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP would be in the same phase, but are shifted with each other with some phase; and if the motor has an initial reverse rotation direction, the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP would be in the same phase within the shifted phase, and are out of phase with each other in the remained phase. Thus, the second time signal T2 may be compared with the first time signal T1 multiplied with a coefficient k, as shown in
The phase detector 42-1 shown in
If T2 is higher than the result of the multiplication (i.e., T2>T1×K), the motor has an initial forward rotation direction (as shown in
One skilled in the art may choose appropriate value of k in real applications. In one embodiment of the present invention, k=0.75.
In the foregoing embodiments shown in
That is, the phase detector comprises: a first timer 21, a second timer 22 and a comparing unit 23. The first timer 21 is configured to time a time period of a high level or a low level of one signal between the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP in one electrical cycle, to generate a first time signal T1. The second timer 22 is configured to time a time period of the high level or the low level of the other signal between the sense signal VH and the compare signal CMP during the timing period of the first timer 21, to generate a second time signal T2. The comparing unit 23 is configured to compare the first time signal T1 (or the multiplication of the first time signal T1 and the coefficient k) with the second time signal T2, to generate the initial rotation signal Pi.
In real applications, because the motor has a relatively low initial rotation speed, the back electromotive force across the stator 22 is relatively low. Accordingly, disturbance may occur at the feedback voltage VFB when the sense signal VH turns high, causing the compare signal CMP to have certain short pulses during the sense signal VH's edge jump, as shown in
Therefore, the second time signal T2 may be compared with the first time signal T1 (or the multiplication of the first time signal T1 and the coefficient k) for several times, to improve the detection accuracy. For example, the second time signal T2 may be compared with the first time signal T1 (or the multiplication of the first time signal T1 and the coefficient k) for consecutive n (e.g., 2, 3 or more) electrical cycles. During these n electrical cycles, if a number of times that the second time signal T2 is higher than the first time signal T1 (or the multiplication of the first time signal T1 and the coefficient k) reaches a set value, the motor has an initial forward rotation; and if the number of times that the second time signal T2 is higher than the first time signal T1 (or the multiplication of the first time signal T1 and the coefficient k) is less than the set value, the motor has an initial reverse rotation.
The phase detectors discussed above with reference to
In the example of
In the example of
The phase detector 42-5 shown in
Step 1201, sensing a variation of a magnetic field caused by a rotation of the rotor, to generate a sense signal.
Step 1202, comparing a back electromotive force across the stator with a reference voltage, to generate a compare signal.
Step 1203, detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal, to generate an initial rotation signal. And
Step 1204, choosing a forward startup logic or a reverse startup logic in response to the initial rotation signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of “detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal” comprises: timing a first time period of a high level or a low level of one signal between the sense signal and the compare signal in one electrical cycle, to generate a first time signal; timing a second time period of the high level or the low level of the other signal between the sense signal and the compare signal during a timing period of the first time period, to generate a second time signal; and comparing the first time signal with the second time signal, or comparing a multiplication of the first time signal and a coefficient with the second time signal, to generate the initial rotation signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of “detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal” further comprises: comparing the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) with the second time signal for several times: if a number of times that the second time signal is higher than the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) reaches a set value, the motor has an initial forward rotation; and if the number of times that the second time signal is higher than the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) is less than the set value, the motor has an initial reverse rotation.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of “detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal” comprises: timing a first time period of a high level or a low level of one signal between the sense signal and the compare signal in one electrical cycle, to generate a first time signal; timing a second time period of a complementary level of the other signal between the sense signal and the compare signal during a timing period of the first time period, to generate a second time signal; performing a subtracting operation on the first time signal and the second time signal, to generate an in-phase time signal; and comparing the first time signal or a multiplication of the first time signal and a coefficient with the in-phase time signal, to generate the initial rotation signal.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of “detecting an overlap degree between the sense signal and the compare signal” further comprises: comparing the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) with the in-phase time signal for several times: if a number of times that the in-phase time signal is higher than the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) reaches a set value, indicating the motor has an initial forward rotation; and if the number of times that the in-phase time signal is higher than the first time signal (or the multiplication of the first time signal and the coefficient) is less than the set value, indicating the motor has an initial reverse rotation.
Several embodiments of the forgoing BLDC motor system judge the initial rotation direction through the back electromotive force generated by the stator together with the induced signal sensed by the hall sensor. Thus, startup performance of the motor is improved, the circuit wiring is simplified and the cost is lowered down.
It is to be understood in these letters patent that the meaning of “A” is coupled to “B” is that either A and B are connected to each other as described below, or that, although A and B may not be connected to each other as described above, there is nevertheless a device or circuit that is connected to both A and B. This device or circuit may include active or passive circuit elements, where the passive circuit elements may be distributed or lumped-parameter in nature. For example, A may be connected to a circuit element that in turn is connected to B.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202210363021.4 | Apr 2022 | CN | national |