Apparatus for damping mechanical vibrations in electrical lines through which modulated currents flow

Abstract

An apparatus (100) for damping vibrations in electrical lines (10) through which modulated currents flow has at least one sound or vibration sensor (102) oriented towards the line (10) or attached to the line, at least one actuator (104) connected to the line, and a control circuit (200) which is supplied, via respective signal lines (108), with signals generated by the at least one sound or vibration sensor (102) that represent sound or vibrations. The control circuit controls the at least one actuator (104) via respective control lines (110) such that this actuator counteracts the vibration of the line (10).

Claims

1. An apparatus for damping mechanical vibrations in electrical lines through which modulated currents flow, said apparatus comprising: at least one sound or vibration sensor oriented towards the line or attached to the line, at least one actuator connected to the line, and a control circuit which is supplied, via respective signal lines, with signals generated by the at least one sound or vibration sensor that represent sound or vibrations, and which controls the at least one actuator via respective control lines such that this actuator counteracts the vibration of the line.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sound or vibration sensor allows spatial resolution of the vibration amplitude along at least part of the line, and wherein the control circuit is configured to control the at least one actuator such that the maximum vibration amplitude is reduced.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one sound or vibration sensor comprises an optical microphone.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one actuator has an electromagnetic or piezoelectric drive.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one actuator is fastened to a structure on or in which the line is laid such that vibrations emanating from the actuator or introduced into the latter are introduced into the structure only in a damped manner or are previously eliminated.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is supplied with a signal which represents information about the pulse frequency, the pulse duration and/or the current intensity of the electric current flowing in the line, and wherein the control circuit is configured, based on the signal, to excite a respective actuator with a frequency and/or phase which counteracts the vibration caused by the current.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the at least one actuator with a frequency sweep in a learning phase, and to form a correlation from the signal representing information about the current flowing in the line and from the amplitude and frequency of the vibration of the line sensed by the at least one sound or vibration sensor, which correlation contains, for a particular pulse frequency, amplitude and/or pulse duration, a control signal for the at least one actuator, which signal effects damping of the vibration of the line.

8. A method for damping vibrations in electrical lines through which modulated currents flow, by means of an apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: detecting vibrations of the line by means of at least one sound or vibration sensor, generating control signals for at least one actuator, and outputting the control signals.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: receiving a signal which provides information about a current intensity and a modulation of the current flowing in the line, selecting control signals for at least one actuator from a correlation table, generating control signals for at least one actuator, and outputting the control signals.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising, in a learning phase: receiving a signal which provides information about a current intensity and a modulation of the current flowing in the line, applying a frequency sweep to at least one actuator, detecting vibrations of the line by means of the at least one sound or vibration sensor, repeating the frequency sweep with a changed amplitude of the control signal of the at least one actuator, ascertaining a control signal in which the vibrations of the line are maximally damped, and storing the control signal and the current intensity and modulation of the current in a correlation table.

11. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when the program is executed by a microprocessor of a control circuit of an apparatus for damping mechanical vibrations in electrical lines through which modulated currents flow, said apparatus comprising: at least one sound or vibration sensor oriented towards the line or attached to the line, at least one actuator connected to the line, and a control circuit which is supplied, via respective signal lines, with signals generated by the at least one sound or vibration sensor that represent sound or vibrations, and which controls the at least one actuator via respective control lines such that this actuator counteracts the vibration of the line,, cause the method according to claims 8 to be performed.

12. A computerreadable medium on which the computer program product according to claim 11 is stored.

13. An electric or hybrid vehicle having an apparatus according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0018] The invention will be explained in more detail below by way of example on the basis of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures. All figures are purely schematic and not to scale. In the figures:

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary apparatus for damping vibrations in electrical lines through which modulated currents flow,

[0020] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention, and

[0021] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a control circuit configured for performing one or more aspects of the method according to the invention.

[0022] Identical or similar elements may be provided with identical or similar reference signs in the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary apparatus 100 for damping vibrations in electrical lines 10 through which modulated currents flow. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the line 10 is connected to a structure, which is not shown in the figure, at two fixation points 106. Between the fixation points 106, the line may change its position, in particular may vibrate transversely with respect to its longitudinal extent. A modulated current, indicated by the square wave in the figure, flows through the line 10. The modulated current leads to electromagnetic forces which act upon the line and can cause this line to vibrate. Depending on the frequency and intensity of the modulated current, the line 10 can vibrate more or less strongly between the fixation points 106 and generate an audible sound in the process. It is also possible to strike the structure with the frequency of the vibration. The apparatus 100, formed of the components arranged inside the dashed border in the figure, comprises at least one sound or vibration sensor 102 which senses sound or vibrations emanating from a line 10 and applies a corresponding signal to a control circuit 200. Control circuit 200 analyses the signal or the signals applied by the one or more sound or vibration sensors and applies a control signal to one or more actuators 104, each of which exerts a corresponding force which acts on the line 10 and counteracts the vibration of the line 10. The control circuit 200 is furthermore supplied with a signal S which is output by a control device, which modulates the current through the line 10 and is not shown in the figure, and which transmits information about the current intensity and the modulation of the current.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the method 300 according to the invention. In step 302, vibrations of the line 10 are detected by means of at least one sound or vibration sensor. In step 304, control signals for at least one actuator 104 are generated, which control signals are output in step 306.

[0025] Additionally, in an optional step 308, a signal S which provides information about a current intensity and a modulation of the current flowing in the line 10 can be received. On the basis of the signal S, in step 310, control signals for at least one actuator are selected from a correlation table and additionally taken as a basis for the generating in step 304. By this means, already at the start of the modulated current flow, an appropriate control signal can be applied to at least one actuator such that the vibration of the line can be damped more quickly. Continuous control can nevertheless continue to take place.

[0026] The correlation table can be filled with data in a learning phase. To this end, starting from step 308, a frequency sweep can be applied to at least one actuator in step 312, while vibrations of the line are detected in step 314. The frequency sweep can be repeated with changed amplitude of the control signal of the at least one actuator. In step 316, a control signal in which the vibrations of the line 10 are maximally damped is ascertained from the previously generated characteristic map, which control signal is stored in the correlation table in step 318 and is available for the selecting in step 310.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a control circuit 200 configured for performing one or more aspects of the method according to the invention. Control circuit 200 comprises, in addition to a microprocessor 202, volatile and non-volatile memories 204 and 206, respectively, at least one control output 208, at least one microphone input 210 and optionally at least one signal input 212. The components of the control circuit 200 are communicatively connected to each other via one or more data connections or buses 214. The non-volatile memory 206 contains computer program instructions which, when they are executed by the microprocessor 202, configure the control circuit 200 of the apparatus 100 to perform the method 300 according to the invention.

TABLE-US-00001 List of reference signs 10 line 300 method 100 apparatus 302 detecting 102 sound/vibration sensor 304 generating 104 actuator 306 outputting 106 fixation point 308 receiving 200 control circuit 310 selecting 202 microprocessor 312 applying 204 volatile memory 314 detecting 206 non-volatile memory 316 ascertaining 208 control output 318 storing 210 microphone input S signal 212 signal input 214 data connection/bus