Motor winding heater systems and methods

摘要

A motor controller includes a motor winding heater function. The motor controller applies a predefined current to one or more of the motor windings without the use of additional dedicated motor winding heater devices. The motor controller serves to control the operation of the motor, while the motor windings serve both as a heater at times and to produce torque at times.

主权项

1. A motor winding heater comprising:
a motor controller configured to receive an alternating current (AC) power and transmit at least a portion of the AC power during a conduction interval of a cycle of the AC power to a motor, the motor including at least two motor windings; the motor controller including a processor configured to control operation of the motor controller in a first operation mode and a second operation mode; the motor controller further including a heating level input to the second operation mode, the heating level input to set at least one of a heating level and a heating period to control heating of the at least two motor windings, the heating level to control a level of heating current to the at least two motor windings; wherein in the first operation mode, the motor controller operates to transmit a first AC power derived from the AC power to all of the at least two motor windings to cause the motor to rotate; and wherein in the second operation mode, the motor controller operates to transmit a second AC power derived from the AC power to all of the motor windings, the second AC power transmitted at a lower frequency than the first AC power to heat the motor windings without causing the motor to rotate.