Patent ID: 6288513
Filing Date: 2001-09-11
Classification: H02P

Abstract:
A method of rotor position detection for a switched reluctance machine having a rotor, a stator and a plurality of phase windings, the rotor being movable relative to the stator according to a cyclic variation of magnetic properties of each phase, the method comprising:defining a reference position of the rotor relative to the stator in each cyclic variation of the magnetic properties;sampling at least one characteristic of the machine at an estimate of the time of reaching one of the reference positions;deriving a rotor position from the sampled characteristic(s); andadvancing the rotor beyond a subsequent reference position and sampling the at least one characteristic again to allow further time for a subsequent derivation of the rotor position;wherein said one reference position is in one phase and said subsequent reference position is in another phase of the switched reluctance machine.