Method and a control system for controlling parallel operating devices

Abstract

A device-system comprises parallel operating devices (105-107) for driving an operating quantity towards a target value, and a control system for controlling each device at least partly based on a device-specific integral term relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal that is indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value. The control system comprises a stabilizing system that computes an arithmetic average of the device-specific integral terms and corrects the device-specific integral terms towards the computed arithmetic average. The correction of the device-specific integral terms makes it possible to avoid unwanted drifts in the device-specific integral terms in a situation where there are differences between the device-specific error signals. The devices can be peers to each other and thus redundancy is achieved because one device can be removed from or added to the device-system without actions from the other devices.

Claims

1. A control system for controlling parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value, the control equipment comprising controllers for controlling the devices so that each controller is configured to control one of the devices at least partly based on a device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration and relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal available to the controller and indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value, wherein the control system further comprises a stabilizing system for computing, for each of the controllers, an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration and (ii) one or more of the device-specific integral terms maintained by other ones of the controllers, and for correcting the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average, wherein the stabilizing system is implemented with the controllers so that each of the controllers comprises: a receiver for receiving the one or more of the device-specific integral terms maintained by the other ones of the controllers, and an arithmetic section for computing the arithmetic average of the received device-specific integral terms and the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration, and for correcting the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

2. The control system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the controllers comprises a transmitter for transmitting, to other ones of the controllers, the device-specific integral term maintained by the at least one of the controllers.

3. The control system according to claim 2, wherein each of the controllers is configured to update and correct the device-specific integral terms according to the formula:
I_n=I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti+K corr(I_ave−(I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti)), where I_n is the device-specific integral term maintained by n.sup.th one of the controllers, I_n,prev is the previous value of the device-specific integral term, e_n is the device-specific error signal related to the nt.sup.h one of the devices, I_ave is the arithmetic average, Δt is a temporal length of one operating clock cycle, Ti is an integration time, and Kcorr is a correction factor.

4. The control system according to claim 2, wherein each of the controllers is a proportional and integrative “PI” controller or a proportional-integrative-derivative “PID” controller.

5. The control system according to claim 1, wherein each of the controllers is configured to update and correct the device-specific integral terms according to the formula:
I_n=I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti+K corr(I_ave−(I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti)), where I_n is the device-specific integral term maintained by n.sup.th one of the controllers, I_n,prev is the previous value of the device-specific integral term, e_n is the device-specific error signal related to the n.sup.th one of the devices, I_ave is the arithmetic average, Δt is a temporal length of one operating clock cycle, Ti is an integration time, and Kcorr is a correction factor.

6. The control system according to claim 1, wherein each of the controllers is a proportional and integrative “PI” controller or a proportional-integrative-derivative “PID” controller.

7. A device-system comprising: parallel operating devices for driving an operating quantity towards a target value, and a control system according to claim 1 for controlling the parallel operating devices.

8. The device-system according to claim 7, wherein the parallel operating devices are mechanically coupled electric machines whose rotational speeds have fixed relations with respect to each other, and the operating quantity has a fixed relation with the rotational speeds of the mechanically coupled electric machines.

9. The device-system according to claim 7, wherein the parallel operating devices are electric power converters supplying a common direct voltage link, and the operating quantity is direct voltage of the common direct voltage link.

10. A plurality of controllers for controlling a plurality of devices, each device being one of parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value, each controller of the plurality of controllers comprising: a control section for controlling the device at least partly based on a device-specific integral term maintained by the control section and relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal available to the controller and indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value, wherein each controller of the plurality of controllers further comprises: a receiver for receiving one or more of device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the parallel operating devices, and an arithmetic section for computing an arithmetic average of: (i) the received device-specific integral terms, and (ii) the device-specific integral term maintained by the control section, and for correcting the device-specific integral term maintained by the control section towards the computed arithmetic average.

11. The controller according to claim 10, wherein the controller comprises a transmitter for transmitting, to a data transfer channel, the device-specific integral term maintained by the control section.

12. A method for controlling parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value, the method comprising: controlling each of the devices at least partly based on a device-specific integral term relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value, wherein the method comprises the following actions for each of the devices: receiving one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, computing an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration and (ii) the one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, and correcting the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the device-specific integral terms are updated and corrected according to the formula:
I_n=I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti+K corr(I_ave−(I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti)), where I_n is the device-specific integral term related to n.sup.th one of the devices, I_n,prev is the previous value of the device-specific integral term, e_n is the device-specific error signal related to the n.sup.th one of the devices, I_ave is the arithmetic average, Δt is a temporal length of one operating clock cycle, Ti is an integration time, and Kcorr is a correction factor.

14. A non-volatile computer readable medium encoded with a computer program for stabilizing control of parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value, wherein the computer program comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a plurality of controllers of a programmable processing system to: receive one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, control each of the devices at least partly based on a device-specific integral term relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value, compute, for each of the devices, an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration and (ii) the one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, and correcting the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) Exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention and their advantages are explained in greater detail below in the sense of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1a illustrates a device-system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1b illustrates a controller according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 1c illustrates a controller according to another exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a device-system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, and

(4) FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention for controlling a device-system comprising parallel operating devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) The specific examples provided in the description below should not be construed as limiting the scope and/or the applicability of the accompanied claims. Lists and groups of examples provided in the description are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.

(6) FIG. 1a shows a schematic illustration of a device-system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention. The device-system comprises parallel operating devices for driving an operating quantity towards a target value. In this exemplifying case, the parallel operating devices are electric machines 105, 106, and 107 for driving wheels 131, 132, and 133. The rotational speeds of the electric machines 105, 106, and 107 are coupled to each other via the ground 134. In this exemplifying case, the above-mentioned operating quantity is the rotational speed of the electric machines 105-107 and the above-mentioned target value is a speed reference. In FIG. 1a, the speed reference is denoted as Speed ref. In the exemplifying device-system shown in FIG. 1a, the electric machines 105-107 are driven with electric power converters which are connected to a common direct voltage link 114. It is, however, also possible that there are other means for driving the electric machines. In FIG. 1a, the electric power converter driving the electric machine 105 is denoted with a reference 113. In the exemplifying device-system shown in FIG. 1a, the direct voltage link 114 is connected to a battery unit 116 and to an engine-generator unit 117. Thus, the device-system illustrated in FIG. 1a can be for example a part of a hybrid vehicle. It is, however, also possible that there are other means for supplying electric energy to the direct voltage link 114. Each of the electric machines 105-107 is provided with a tachometer for measuring the rotational speed the electric machine under consideration. In FIG. 1a, the measured values of the rotational speed are denoted as Speed meas1, Speed meas2, and Speed meas3. Each of the electric machines 105-107 is provided with an own tachometer to achieve redundancy. In FIG. 1a, the tachometer connected to the electric machine 105 and configured to measure the rotational speed of the electric machine 105 is denoted with a reference 115.

(7) The device-system comprises a control system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention for controlling the electric machines 105-107 via the electric power converters. The control system comprises controllers 101, 102, and 103 for controlling the electric machines 105-107 based on the speed reference Speed ref and on the measured rotational speed values Speed meas1, Speed meas2, and Speed meas3. Each controller is configured to produce a torque reference that is delivered to the respective electric power converter. In FIG. 1a, the torque references produced by the controllers 105-107 are denoted with Tref1, Tref2, and Tref3. Each of the controllers 105-107 is configured to control the respective electric machine at least partly based on a device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration and relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal that is indicative of a deviation of the measured speed from the speed reference. For example, the device-specific error signal related to the electric machine 105 is: Speed ref-Speed meas1. In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1a, the “device-specific” means “machine-specific” since the parallel operating devices are the electric machines 105-107. The control system further comprises a stabilizing system for computing, for each of the controllers 105-107, an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration and (ii) one or more of the device-specific integral terms maintained by the other ones of the controllers. Furthermore, the stabilizing system is configured to correct the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

(8) In the exemplifying control system illustrated in FIG. 1a, the above-mentioned stabilizing system is implemented in a distributed way so that the controllers 105-107 are communicatively connected to each other via a data transfer channel 118 e.g. a field bus, and each of the controllers 105-107 comprises means for correcting the device-specific integral term maintained by the controller under consideration. FIG. 1b shows a block-diagram of the controller 101. The controllers 102 and 103 can be similar to the controller 101. In FIG. 1b, the device-specific integral terms related to the electric machines 105-107 are denoted as I1, I2, and I3, respectively. The controller 101 comprises a receiver 109 for receiving the device-specific integral terms I2 and I3 maintained by the controllers 102 and 103. The controller 101 comprises a control section 108 for controlling the electric machine 105 at least partly based on the device-specific integral term I1 maintained by the control section 108. The integral term I1 relates to a time integral of the device-specific error signal e1 that is indicative of the deviation of the measured speed value Speed meas1 from the speed reference Speed ref, i.e. e1=Speed ref −Speed meas1. In this exemplifying case, the control section 108 constitutes a proportional and integrative “PI” controller. It is also possible that the control section 108 constitutes a proportional-integrative-derivative “PID” controller or another suitable controller mechanism. The controller 101 comprises an arithmetic section 110 for computing an arithmetic average I_ave of the received device-specific integral terms I2 and I3 and the device-specific integral term I1 maintained by the control section 108, i.e. I_ave=(I1+I2+I3)/3. The arithmetic section 110 is configured to correct the device-specific integral term I1 towards the computed arithmetic average I_ave. In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1b, the control section 108 and the arithmetic section 110 are configured to update and correct the device-specific integral term I1 according to the following formula:
I1=I1,prev+e1Δt/Ti+K corr(I_ave−(I1,prev+e1Δt/Ti)),  (1)

(9) where I1,prev is the previous value of the device-specific integral term I1, Δt is the temporal length of one operating clock cycle, Ti is the integration time, and Kcorr is a correction factor. In typical cases the above-described correction is capable of compensating for small imbalances, and advantageously the correction is tuned to slower than the integration time Ti. For example, if the integration time Ti is 100 ms, the time constant of the correction could be about 1 s, which means a compensation factor Kcorr=1.0.

(10) In a device-system according to another exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, each of the controllers 101, 102, and 103 shown in FIG. 1a is like a controller 151 illustrated in FIG. 1c. In FIG. 1c, the device-specific integral terms related to the electric machines 105-107 are denoted as I1, I2, and I3, respectively. The controller 151 comprises a receiver 159 for receiving the device-specific integral terms I2 and I3 maintained by the other controllers. The controller 151 comprises a control section 158 for controlling the respective electric machine at least partly based on the device-specific integral term I1 maintained by the control section 158. The integral term I1 represents a time integral of the device-specific error signal e1 that is indicative of the deviation of the measured speed value Speed meas1 from the speed reference Speed ref, i.e. e1=Speed ref −Speed meas1. In this exemplifying case, the control section 158 constitutes a proportional and integrative “PI” controller. It is also possible that the control section 158 constitutes a proportional-integrative-derivative “PID” controller or another suitable controller mechanism. The controller 151 comprises an arithmetic section 160 for computing an arithmetic average I_ave of the received device-specific integral terms I2 and I3 and the device-specific integral term I1 maintained by the control section 158, i.e. I_ave=(I1+I2+I3)/3. The arithmetic section 160 is configured to correct the device-specific integral term I1 towards the computed arithmetic average I_ave. In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1c, the arithmetic section 160 is configured to correct the device-specific integral term I1 according to the following formula:
I1,corr=I1+K corr(I_ave−I1),  (2)

(11) where I1,corr is the corrected value of the device-specific integral term I1, and Kcorr is a correction factor.

(12) As illustrated with the exemplifying cases shown in FIGS. 1b and 1c, the device-specific integral terms can be corrected towards the average of the device-specific integral terms in various ways. The invention described in the present application is not limited to any particular way to correct the device-specific integral terms towards the average.

(13) In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1b, the controller 101 comprises a transmitter 111 for transmitting, to the data transfer channel 118, the device-specific integral term I1 maintained by the control section 108. Correspondingly, in the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1c, the controller 151 comprises a transmitter 161 for transmitting the device-specific integral term maintained by the control section 158. In some exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments, it is not necessary for every controller to transmit its own device-specific integral term to other controllers. If a controller only receives the device-specific integral terms from the other controllers, the controller can adapt its own device-specific integral term according to the device-specific integral terms of the other controllers. In some exemplifying embodiments, this kind of a listen-only mode may be advantageous because many controllers can be arranged to listen only one broadcast signal without the need to transmit anything. In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 1a, for example the controller 103 could be in the above-described listen only mode where the controller 103 only receives the device-specific integral terms from the controllers 101 and 102 but does not transmits its own device-specific integral term.

(14) In the device-system shown in FIG. 1a, the electric motors 105-107, the electric power converters, and the controllers 101-103 constitute units 119, 120, and 121 which can be peers to each other and thus redundancy is achieved because one of the units 119-121 can be removed from the device-system without actions from the other units. Correspondingly, a new unit can be added to the device-system without actions from the other units. If a unit is removed, its device-specific integral term does not participate to the above-described average calculation anymore. Correspondingly, if a unit is added its device-specific integral term can be added automatically to the average calculation.

(15) FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a device-system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention. The device-system comprises parallel operating devices for driving an operating quantity towards a target value. In this exemplifying case, the parallel operating devices are electric power converters 205, 206, and 207 connected to a common direct voltage link 214. The above-mentioned operating quantity is the direct voltage of the direct voltage link 214 and the above-mentioned target value is a voltage reference. In FIG. 2, the voltage reference is denoted as U.sub.DC ref. In the exemplifying device-system shown in FIG. 2, the electric power converters 205, 206, and 207 are parts of units 219, 220, and 221 configured to supply electric energy to the direct voltage link 214 which, in turn, is configured to supply electric energy to a load system 222. The device-system illustrated in FIG. 2 can be for example a part of an electric power system of a ship or a ferry.

(16) The device-system comprises a control system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention for controlling the electric power converters 205-207. The control system comprises controllers 201, 202, and 203 for controlling the electric power converters 205-207 based on the voltage reference U.sub.DC ref and measured voltage values U.sub.DC meas1, U.sub.DC meas2, and U.sub.DC meas3. Each of the controllers 205-207 is provided with its own voltage measurement means to achieve redundancy between the units 219, 220, and 221. Each of the controllers 205-207 is configured to control the respective electric power converter at least partly based on a device-specific integral term which is maintained by the controller under consideration and which represents a time integral of a device-specific error signal that is indicative of a deviation of the measured voltage value from the voltage reference U.sub.DC ref. For example, the device-specific error signal related to the power converter 205 is: U.sub.DC ref −U.sub.DC meas1. In FIG. 2, the device-specific integral terms related to the electric power converters 205-207 are denoted as I1, I2, and I3, respectively. In the exemplifying case illustrated in FIG. 2, the “device-specific” means “power converter-specific” since the parallel operating devices are the power converters 205-207. The control system further comprises a stabilizing system for computing an arithmetic average of the device-specific integral terms I1, I2, and I3, and for correcting each of the device-specific integral terms towards the computed arithmetic average.

(17) In the exemplifying control system illustrated in FIG. 2, the above-mentioned stabilizing system is implemented in a centralized way. The controllers 205-207 are communicatively connected to a central device 204 via a data transfer channel 218, e.g. a field bus. The central device 204 comprises a receiver 209 for receiving the device-specific integral terms I1, I2, and I3 via the data transfer channel 218. The central device 204 comprises an arithmetic section 210 for computing the arithmetic average of the device-specific integral terms, i.e. (I1+I2+I3)/3. The arithmetic section 210 is configured to correct each of the device-specific integral terms I1, I2, and I3 towards the computed arithmetic average. The arithmetic section 210 can be configured to correct the device-specific integral terms for example according to the formula 2 presented earlier in this document. The central device 204 further comprises a transmitter 211 for transmitting the corrected device-specific integral terms I1,corr, I2,corr, and I3,corr to the controllers 201-203.

(18) The units 219, 220, and 221 can be peers to each other and thus redundancy is achieved because one of the units 219-221 can be removed from the device-system without actions from the other units. Correspondingly, a new unit can be added to the device-system without actions from the other units. If a unit is removed, its device-specific integral term does not participate to above-described average calculation anymore. Correspondingly, if a unit is added its device-specific integral term can be added automatically to the average calculation.

(19) The implementation of each of the controllers 101-103 shown in FIG. 1a, as well as the implementation of each of the controllers 201-203 and the central device 204 shown in FIG. 2 can be based on one or more analogue circuits, one or more digital processing circuits, or a combination thereof. Each digital processing circuit can be a programmable processor circuit provided with appropriate software, a dedicated hardware processor such as for example an application specific integrated circuit “ASIC”, or a configurable hardware processor such as for example a field programmable gate array “FPGA”. Furthermore, each of the controllers 101-103 as well as each of the controllers 201-203 and the central device 204 may comprise one or more memory circuits each of which can be for example a Random-Access Memory “RAM” circuit.

(20) FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention for controlling an electric power system that comprises parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value. The method comprises action 301 which involves controlling each of the devices at least partly based on a device-specific integral term relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal that is indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value. The method further comprises the following actions for each of the devices: action 302: computing an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration and (ii) one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, and action 303: correcting the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

(21) In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the following actions are carried out at each of the devices: receiving the one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to the other ones of the devices, computing the arithmetic average of the received device-specific integral terms and the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration, and correcting the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

(22) A method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises transmitting, from at least one of the devices to other ones of the devices, the device-specific integral term related to the at least one of the devices.

(23) In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the device-specific integral terms are updated and corrected according to the formula:
I_n=I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti+K corr(I_ave−(I_n,prev+e_nΔt/Ti)),

(24) where I_n is the device-specific integral term related to n.sup.th one of the devices, I_n,prev is the previous value of the device-specific integral term, e_n is the device-specific error signal related to the n.sup.th one of the devices, I_ave is the arithmetic average, Δt is the temporal length of one operating clock cycle, Ti is the integration time, and Kcorr is a correction factor.

(25) A computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to carry out actions related to a method according to any of the above-described exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention.

(26) A computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises software modules for stabilizing control of parallel operating devices configured to drive an operating quantity towards a target value, each of the devices being controlled at least partly based on a device-specific integral term relating to a time integral of a device-specific error signal indicative of a deviation of the operating quantity from the target value. The software modules comprise computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to: compute, for each of the devices, an arithmetic average of (i) the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration and (ii) one or more of the device-specific integral terms related to other ones of the devices, and correcting the device-specific integral term related to the device under consideration towards the computed arithmetic average.

(27) The software modules can be for example subroutines or functions implemented with programming tools suitable for the programmable processing system.

(28) A computer program product according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises a computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc “CD”, encoded with a computer program according to an exemplifying embodiment of invention.

(29) A signal according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention is encoded to carry information defining a computer program according to an exemplifying embodiment of invention.

(30) The specific examples provided in the description given above should not be construed as limiting the scope and/or the applicability of the appended claims. Lists and groups of examples provided in the description given above are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.