The present invention relates to a motor controller providing a dual-channel functional-safety (FS) safe-torque-off (STO) function when controlling a motor. The motor controller includes an inverter with low-side switches and high-side switches, a low-side gate drive connected to the low-side switches, a high-side gate drive connected to the high-side switches, a first functional-safety safe-torque-off circuit connected to the high-side gate drive and a second functional-safety safe-torque-off circuit connected to the low-side gate drive, and a non-rein-forced high-voltage isolation barrier.

A circuit for ground disconnection protection is provided herein. In an embodiment, the circuit includes power transistor elements in a common-source arrangement coupled between a first ground and a second ground. The power transistor elements are configured to turn on during a ground disconnection event in an electric motor system. This allows a current to pass between the first ground and the second ground, bypassing a control circuit.

A progressive protection method automatically adapts a protection trip delay or fault timeout for a motor that is a member of a group of motors performing mutually similar or related tasks, based on the occurrence of a fault in another motor within the group, without requiring manual intervention. If the user requires stringent protection of the motors in a particular application, then the trip delay time for all of the motors in the group, may be shortened in response to recently-detected similar trips of other motors within the group. Alternatively, if the user prefers continuity of service for a particular application, then the trip delay time for all of the motors in the group, may be increased in response to recently-detected similar trips of other motors within the group, based on past experience with the occurrence of fault self-clearing for the motors in the group.

A motor control apparatus and method for a vehicle. A motor includes windings respectively including coils. Inverters supply electric power to one of the windings to drive the motor. Controllers control the inverters to control the operation of the motor. The windings, the inverters and the controllers are set as a plurality of power supply lines respectively including a winding, an inverter and a controller. One of the power supply lines, in which at least one of the winding, the inverter or the controller has malfunctioned, is determined as having malfunctioned. Electric power that has been supplied via the power supply line determined as having malfunctioned is controlled to supplement power of another power supply line. Redundancy is obtained in the operation of a variety of motors provided in the vehicle, and the vehicle travels reliably.

A progressive protection method automatically adapts a protection trip delay or fault timeout for a motor that is a member of a group of motors performing mutually similar or related tasks, based on the occurrence of a fault in another motor within the group, without requiring manual intervention. If the user requires stringent protection of the motors in a particular application, then the trip delay time for all of the motors in the group, may be shortened in response to recently-detected similar trips of other motors within the group. Alternatively, if the user prefers continuity of service for a particular application, then the trip delay time for all of the motors in the group, may be increased in response to recently-detected similar trips of other motors within the group, based on past experience with the occurrence of fault self-clearing for the motors in the group.

In a motor driving apparatus including an inverter connectable to n motors (n being an integer not less than 2) each including a rotor having a permanent magnet, braking operation is performed on i (i being an integer from 1 to n1) of the n motors, and then braking operation is performed on j (j being an integer from 1 to ni) of the n motors other than the i motors. It is possible to reduce the risks of failure of the inverter and demagnetization of the motors due to overcurrent by reducing current flowing through the inverter and the motors when the braking operation is performed.

A method for fail-safe monitoring of the speed of a drive that includes at least a converter, a motor, and a rotational speed sensor, wherein a target rotational speed is specified to the drive and an actual rotational speed is sensed via the sensor, where a substitute rotational speed is calculated and three plausibility checks are performed in a safety program of a safety CPU, the substitute rotational speed being determinable, for example, from the initial frequency of a converter or from the quotient of EMF and magnetic flux, in each case two of the following three values being checked: target rotational speed, actual rotational speed and substitute rotational speed to achieve a high safety integrity level while avoiding disadvantages of conventional solutions, and because the calculated substitute rotational speed is independent of the sensor, even sensor errors that are difficult or impossible to detect via conventional solutions become detectable.

Electrical power distribution systems with a bypass unit that electrically engages one of two alternate units for powering a load while electrically isolating the other using a power transfer switch with first and second contactors and mechanical and electrical interlocks to allow a technician to access one of the alternate units when de-energized and in position while the other of the alternate units is energized and powering the load.

The invention relates to a method for the external monitoring of a converter (10), the converter (10) being controlled by means of a first electronic control system (12) and the method being implemented by means of a second electronic control system (14) which is independent from the first electronic control system (12). Said method comprises detection (51) of a current (I) received by the converter (10) and a voltage (U) received by the converter (10) by means of a current/voltage sensor device (16) which is independent from the first electronic control system (12). The invention also relates to a device for monitoring a converter (10), to a computer program product, to a machine-readable storage medium, to a drive train of a motor vehicle, and to a corresponding motor vehicle.

A motor drive device includes an inverter circuit, a switching circuit that switches between conduction and interruption between a power supply and the inverter circuit, and a switching driver that outputs, to the switching circuit, a command voltage which commands a switching operation. The switching circuit includes a first field-effect transistor (FET) and a second FET connected in series with sources of each other in order from a side of the power supply, and the switching driver includes an output circuit that outputs an interruption command voltage in a case in which a potential difference between drains of the FETs exceeds a threshold value, and a delay circuit that causes a timing at which the command voltage is input to a gate of the first FET to be later than a timing at which the command voltage is input to a gate of the second FET.