ROTOR POSITION SENSING IN A DYNAMOELECTRIC MACHINE USING COUPLING BETWEEN MACHINE COILS.

摘要

A polyphase dynamoelectric machine (10) such as a switched reluctance motor has a stator assembly (12) and a rotor assembly (14). The rotor assembly is movable with respect to the stator assembly. The stator assembly includes a stator (16) having a plurality of stator poles (18) The rotor assembly includes a rotor (20) having a plurality of separately energizable stator windings (24) associated with the respective machine phases. The stator windings are energized and de-energized in a predetermined sequential manner to sequentially activate and deactivate the machine phases. Energization and de-energization of the respective stator windings is at least partially determined as a function of the machine's instantaneous rotor position. The machine includes a processor (26) for determining the rotor position. The processor monitors the waveform of a circulating current coupled from an energized stator winding for an active machine phase into a de-energized stator winding for an inactive machine phase. Respective energized and de-energized stator windings are interconnected to form a closed circuit path by which the current in the energized stator winding is coupled into the de-energized stator winding. Monitoring the resultant current waveform provides an indication of rotor position, and the processor uses this information to energize and de-energize the stator windings.