A rotor of line start permanent magnet synchronous motor is provided. The rotor includes bars of cage windings. The rotor includes an additional inductance coupled to the cage windings and located on a first end of the bars. The rotor includes an end ring located on a second end of the bars. The additional inductance provides a reactance to reduce a starting current during an asynchronous starting of the line start permanent magnet synchronous motor.

A system and method to detect an onset of motor rotation for an induction motor. The system and method involves monitoring a power supplied to a motor via a sensor, determining a power quantity based on the power monitored by the sensor, detecting an envelope of the power quantity, detecting an onset of rotation of the motor when an amplitude of the envelope has increased, and inhibiting power flow to the motor when the onset of rotation does not occur within a predetermined time period or logging a first time period of the detected onset of rotation of the motor for use in monitoring the condition of the motor. The power quantity can be a current vector magnitude or an instantaneous power corresponding to the supplied power.

A system and method to detect an onset of motor rotation for an induction motor. The system and method involves monitoring a power supplied to a motor via a sensor, determining a power quantity based on the power monitored by the sensor, detecting an envelope of the power quantity, detecting an onset of rotation of the motor when an amplitude of the envelope has increased, and inhibiting power flow to the motor when the onset of rotation does not occur within a predetermined time period or logging a first time period of the detected onset of rotation of the motor for use in monitoring the condition of the motor. The power quantity can be a current vector magnitude or an instantaneous power corresponding to the supplied power.

A method for power conversion generally includes a step of generating a drive current in a first winding of an electromagnet in a motor mode. The electromagnet may be mounted spatially proximate a rotor and has a bifilar coil. The bifilar coil may have a pair of conductors that form the first winding and a second winding. The second winding may be spatially parallel to, spatially separated from, and electrically isolated from the first winding. The rotor may be rotatably mounted and has a plurality of permanent magnets. Further steps generally include rotating the rotor in response to the drive current, removing the drive current from the first winding in a generator mode and inducing a load current through the second winding to an electrical load in response to a torque applied to the rotor.

Provided is a method for the computer-assisted operation of an electric motor which is exposed to a thermal load as a result of the rotational motion of its rotor during operation. In this method, measured data is received during the operation of the electric motor. One or more temperature values are derived from the measured data. A number of temperature characteristics curves are then forecast with differing restart times for defining a cooling period for reducing the thermal load on the electric motor, wherein the approximated temperature value, which results from the approximated temperature value is used as the specific starting value for a restart in the temperature characteristics curve to be forecast.

Motor controllers and methods for controlling drive circuit bypass signals are provided. The motor controller includes a drive circuit configured to generate variable frequency power based on input power received from a power source, and a drive contactor coupled between an output of the drive circuit and the motor. The drive contactor is configured to couple the drive circuit to the motor when a drive enable signal is received from an external controller, and decouple a line power enable signal from a line contactor by the external controller based on a presence of the drive enable signal. The line contactor is configured to couple the motor directly to the power source when the line power enable signal is received by the line contactor.

The device coupled between a grid and a motor can dynamically soft start and soft stop a motor without the motor experiencing any power surges or jerks.

A signal level adjustment apparatus includes a detector configured to detect both a plurality of peak levels of an input signal having a sinusoidal waveform or a substantially sinusoidal waveform and a plurality of bottom levels of the input signal; and a level adjuster configured to adjust, in a predetermined zone of the input signal, levels of the input signal based on the plurality of peak levels and the plurality of bottom levels detected by the detector.

One embodiment describes a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor in a control circuitry. The instructions include instructions to receive an instruction to make a switching device; determine, using the control circuitry, a voltage waveform of a power source; determine, using the control circuitry, a desired time to make the switching device based at least in part on the source voltage waveform; determine, using the control circuitry, an expected make time of the switching device; and determine, using the control circuitry, when to apply a pull-in current to make the switching device at the desired time based at least in part on the expected make time and the desired time to make.

One embodiment describes a tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor in a control circuitry. The instructions include instructions to receive an instruction to make a switching device; determine, using the control circuitry, a voltage waveform of a power source; determine, using the control circuitry, a desired time to make the switching device based at least in part on the source voltage waveform; determine, using the control circuitry, an expected make time of the switching device; and determine, using the control circuitry, when to apply a pull-in current to make the switching device at the desired time based at least in part on the expected make time and the desired time to make.