The present invention relates to an apparatus for operating two or more motor units.
In systems having multiple electric motors or in the case of one electric motor in which the coils are interconnected in such a manner that they may be controlled in the same manner as two separate electric motors (two motor units), typically one output stage unit is provided per electric motor or per motor unit in order to control the electric motor. This creates high production costs and an increased requirement for space.
However, there are systems in which during normal operation not all the electric motors or all the motor units are simultaneously in operation. For example, during electromotive shift path selection and gear selection/shifting where an electric motor is provided for the shift path selection and a further electric motor is provided for the gear selection. During normal operation, the two electric motors are not brought into operation simultaneously since it is always necessary to initially select the correct shift path before the gear selection may be performed. Or, in systems having direct current motors, for example in a transmission actuator in which one output stage unit (normally of two or four transistors) is provided per motor in order to control the motor; in this case it is likewise possible that not all the motors are brought into operation simultaneously in the transmission actuator. Or for example in the case of steering arrangements, wherein for redundancy reasons or other reasons twice the number of required windings is provided; a set of a number of required windings is considered to be a motor unit, this means then that the system comprises two motor units that during normal operation are not brought into operation simultaneously. In a similar manner, such examples are also found in the case of a quadcopter or a machine tool, where likewise multiple motors/motor units are installed but during normal operation are not brought into operation simultaneously.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide an apparatus that renders it possible in a cost-effective and space-saving manner to use at least two or more motors or one motor in which the coils are interconnected in such a manner that they may be controlled in the same manner as two separate electric motors.
In accordance with the invention, the solution to the object resides in an apparatus including a switching unit that entirely or in part switches an output stage unit from a motor unit, which is currently not in operation, to another motor unit, which is currently in operation, in order to supply the other motor unit. Moreover, this apparatus comprises a control unit that may control one or more suitable output stage units for the required loading condition of the motor units.
In the following, it should apply that it is possible for the motor units to be both multiple separate motors and a single motor having a construction of multiple coils that are interconnected in such a manner that they may be controlled in the same manner as two separate electric motors. The invention may be used both on electrically commutated motors and on mechanically commutated direct current motors.
By virtue of the fact that a switching unit may be entirely or in part switched using the one output stage unit, which is not required, from one motor unit to another motor unit in order to control the other motor unit, the number of output stage units may be reduced in the system and the costs may be accordingly saved. The requirement for space is also smaller since the space for the output stage unit that is omitted is also not required.
Such an apparatus in accordance with the invention may be used for example on electromotive transmissions or clutch actuators or for the control of brushless motors in order to generate an output stage unit of the rotating field. In the case that the apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises multiple output stage units, the output stage units may comprise different performance classes.
Two exemplary embodiments of the invention are further explained below with the aid of the figures.
Such an apparatus in accordance with the invention may be scaled arbitrarily according to requirement depending upon the principle as is illustrated in the above exemplary embodiments so long as the number of output stage units is less than the number of motor units, in other words the apparatus may also control multiple output stage units in order to make the suitable output stage units available to the motor units that are currently to be brought into operation in a system having more than two motor units. An example of such an arrangement is shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10 2017 220 136.3 | Nov 2017 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2018/080689 | 11/8/2018 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2019/092151 | 5/16/2019 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5490056 | Iwasaki | Feb 1996 | A |
20040207345 | Kalender | Oct 2004 | A1 |
20090289593 | Okabe | Nov 2009 | A1 |
20100013419 | White | Jan 2010 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
43 10 958 | Oct 1993 | DE |
199 41 474 | Mar 2001 | DE |
202 14 764 | Nov 2002 | DE |
0 817 366 | Jan 1998 | EP |
2 953 260 | Dec 2015 | EP |
2-131396 | May 1990 | JP |
Entry |
---|
International Preliminary Report on Patentability (PCT/IB/326 & PCT/IB/373) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/EP2018/080689 dated May 28, 2020 including English translation of document C2 (Japanese-language Written Opinion (PCT/ISA/237) previously filed on May 12, 2020) (six (6) pages). |
International Search Report (PCT/ISA/210) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/EP2018/080689 dated Mar. 26, 2019 with English translation (five pages). |
German-language Written Opinion (PCT/ISA/237) issued in PCT Application No. PCT/EP2018/080689 dated Mar. 26, 2019 (five pages). |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20200366221 A1 | Nov 2020 | US |