An MPU sequentially selects one from six energization patterns, applies constant voltage rectangular pulses to the three-phase coils for a prescribed sensing energization time, turns on at least the low-side arm of the three-phase half-bridge type inverter circuit so as to reflux an induced current between a switching element and the coils and attenuate the same, measures peak coil current values immediate before completing the sensing energization by an A/D-converter circuit, and stores the peak coil current values as measured data.

An electric machine includes a rotor, a stator, at least one measurement circuit, and a controller. The rotor includes a plurality of salient poles arranged radially around a rotation axis of the electric machine and spaced apart from the rotation axis of the electric machine. The stator includes a plurality of coils configured to selectively align with the plurality of salient poles of the rotor. The at least one measurement circuit is configured to measure at least one current through at least one of the plurality of coils. The measured current includes a current ripple. The controller configured to compute a position of the rotor based on a characteristic of the current ripple.

A system and method for reliable control of a high rotor pole switched reluctance machine (HRSRM) utilizing a sensorless reliable control system. The method comprising: energizing at least one of the plurality of stator phases; measuring a first current value and time taken by the first current value to reach a first peak value or preset threshold value of current; determining a self-inductance value; measuring a second current value and time taken by an adjacent un-energized stator phase to reach a second peak value of current; determining a mutual inductance value; and estimating a rotor position utilizing the self-inductance and mutual inductance values; and controlling the HRSRM based on the estimated rotor position.

A method of controlling a switched reluctance motor is disclosed herein. The motor composes a stator carrying a plurality of phase windings and a rotor. The method comprises activating the phase windings in a sequence selected to apply torque to the rotor. Wherein during a cycle of rotation of the rotor the phase windings switch between an active state in which current in the phase winding applies torque to the rotor and an inactive state, applying a voltage to a selected phase winding whilst the selected phase winding is in the inactive state to provide a flux in the selected phase winding: determining the current in the selected phase winding; determining the rotor angle based on the current and the flux, and controlling said activating based on the rotor angle.

A method for determining a rotational angle position of a rotor of a multiphase electrical machine, includes the steps of: generating phase voltages for the multiphase electrical machine by pulse width modulation in accordance with a drive voltage vector circulating in a stator-fixed coordinate system. During a determination time interval: a) generating a test voltage vector, vectorially adding the test voltage vector and the actual drive voltage vector to form a sum vector, outputting the sum vector, and measuring a resulting change of a current vector formed from phase currents; b) repeating step a) for a changed rotational angle position and/or a changed value of the drive voltage vector and for a changed test voltage vector a number n of times so that a total of n+I different test voltage vectors and sum vectors are generated and n+ I resulting changes of the current vector are measured; and c) estimating the rotational angle position of the rotor in accordance with the total of n+ I measured changes of the current vector.

In a method for determining the rotor position of a three-phase machine without using a rotary encoder, and to a device for controlling a three-phase motor without using a rotary encoder, the three-phase machine is fed by a converter that can be operated by pulse-width modulation, and the converter has model variables for the rotor angle and the current indicator of the three-phase machine, and the converter has device(s) by using which, in control operation, at least two values are measured which represent a measure of the local inductances of the machine which represent a measure of the local inductances of the machine, the error of the model rotor angle is determined in that, depending on the model rotor angle and the model current indicator, at least two weighting factors are determined, and in that a weighted sum is formed from the at least two measured values and the at least two weighting factors, and in that a further offset value is substracted from the sum, which is likewise determined on the basis of the model rotor angle and the model current indicator.

A motor control apparatus includes an excitation unit and a control unit. The excitation unit includes switching elements connected to a power supply and to different motor coils. The excitation unit excites an excitation phase targeted for excitation among motor excitation phases by the control unit driving the switching elements. When the excitation phases are excited, the control unit drives, in a first time period and based on a first PWM signal, a first switching element connected to a first phase coil corresponding to a first phase of the excitation phase targeted for excitation and, in a second time period and based on a second PWM signal, drives a second switching element connected to a second phase coil corresponding to a second phase of the excitation phase. The control unit controls outputting a duty ratio of the second PWM signal to the second switching element in the second time period.

A method of controlling a switched reluctance motor is disclosed herein. The motor comprises a stator carrying a plurality of phase windings and a rotor. The method comprises activating the phase windings in a sequence selected to apply torque to the rotor, wherein during a cycle of rotation of the rotor the phase windings switch between an active state in which current in the phase winding applies torque to the rotor and an inactive state; applying a voltage to a selected phase winding whilst the selected phase winding is in the inactive state to provide a flux in the selected phase winding; determining the current in the selected phase winding; determining the rotor angle based on the current and the flux; and controlling said activating based on the rotor angle.

Implementations of a system for sensing rotor position of a PMSM may include: a controller which may be coupled with the PMSM. The controller may be configured to apply a plurality of voltage vectors to the PMSM to generate a plurality of sensing signals from a stator of the PMSM in response. A comparator may be coupled to the PMSM configured to receive and to compare each one of the plurality of sensing signals with a threshold voltage. A rise time measurement circuit may calculate a plurality of rise times using the plurality of sensing signals in response to receiving a signal from the comparator. The rotor-angle estimation circuit may be configured to identify from the plurality of rise times a shortest rise time and a voltage vector corresponding with the shortest rise time and thereby identify the position of the rotor of the PMSM.

A power tool is provided including a brushless motor having a stator defining a plurality of phases, a rotor rotatable relative to the stator, and power terminals electrically connected to the phases of the motor. A power unit is provided including power switches. A control unit is interfaced with the power unit to output a drive signal to one or more of the motor switches to drive the phases of the motor over a series of sectors of the rotor rotation. The control unit is configured detect incorrect rotation of the rotor by applying a first series of voltage pulses to a present sector and a second series of voltage pulses to a previous sector, measuring motor currents associated with the first and second series of voltage pulses, and comparing corresponding motor current measurements to detect a transition from the present sector to the previous sector.