Traction motor controller for forklift vehicles

Abstract: A system for controlling separately excited shunt-wound dc motors, where control is achieved through microprocessor-based independent PWM control of a chopper (armature) and an H-bridge (field). Connected to the armature is an armature voltage amplifier for varying the applied armature voltage (94). A field voltage amplifier is also provided for determining the direction of motor rotation and varying the voltage (92) applied to the field winding. A first sensor is connected to the motor armature in order to determine the motor rotational speed. A second sensor is connected to the armature circuit in order to determine the armature current. A third sensor is connected to the field circuit in order to determine the field current. A decoupling controller uses the motor speed (98) and armature current (96) information, and adjusts the armature voltage (94) and the field voltage(92).

Description: The present invention relates to an apparatus for decoupling controlling a dc motor in accordance with the precharacterizing portion of claim 1. Such a decoupling control apparatus is known from IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. IE-34, No. 4, November 87, pages 433 to 440, S.C. Hong et al., "Microprocessor-Based High-Efficiency Drive of a DC Motor". Material handling trucks fall into one of several power plant categories. One such category is the electric vehicle, the energy source for which is a lead-acid battery that can weigh many thousands of pounds. Besides providing the energy source to the vehicle, in many instances the battery also provides vehicle counterbalance. The ratio of the load weight to the gross unloaded vehicle weight of industrial lift trucks is extremely important. For example, if an unladen vehicle weighs 12,000 lbs, and the maximum load weight it can carry is 4,000 lbs, then the gross unladen/laden weight may vary from as little as 12,000 to as much as 16,000 lbs. This represents a change of 33% in motor torque requirements. Moreover, the vehicle must be able to maneuver on loading ramps, further increasing the motor torque requirements. For these and other reasons, it is desirable to have a control system capable of extracting precise and efficient work from the vehicle. The main motive element of this type of vehicle, referred to as the traction system, conventionally consists of a series-wound dc motor coupled to a gear reducer and drive wheel. Some electric vehicles utilize a single "steer-drive" traction system, while others employ a "dual-drive" (differential) traction system. The rotational direction of the series-wound dc motor is controlled by the polarity orientation of the field winding with respect to the armature. Under conventional control, the field winding orientation is controlled through a pair of contactors, such that when power is applied across the field-armature combination, the motor is caused to rotate in the desired direction. The series-wound dc motor, heretofore used extensively in industrial lift trucks, displays one very important characteristic: it has extremely high torque at zero speed. This is extremely important, because it provides the necessary starting torque. Under conventional control, the field-armature combination is controlled as a single unit. Motor speed regulation is achieved through voltage switching typically utilizing such power semiconductor technologies as silicon-controlled-rectifiers (SCR). The voltage drop associated with the SCR as well its duty cycle limit impose a speed limit on the motor. To extract the maximum speed from the motor and reduce overall system power loss, a bypass contactor is utilized across the SCR, thereby placing the motor's field-armature combination in series with the battery. Under such a control scheme, however, the series dc motor does have one major drawback: it may operate only along its characteristic commutation curve limit. This results in motor speed variations due to changing torque loading arising from variations in load capacities, travel path conditions and grade variations. With the proper controls, the use of a shunt-wound dc motor under independent field and armature control can provide distinct advantages over conventional series-wound dc motors for lift truck applications. The control method of the present invention provides the shunt-wound dc motor with the ability to simulate a series-wound dc motor, hence developing the necessary starting torque. The separately excited dc motor represents a highly coupled multi-input, multi-output, non-linear, dynamic system or plant. It is highly coupled in the sense that, when one of its inputs is changed, all of the outputs are affected. This is undesirable, since the purpose of control is to knowingly and intentionally affect the desired output(s) only, without altering other output states. United States Patent No. 4,079,301 issued to Johnson, III discloses a dc motor control circuit having separately excited armature and field windings. The control circuit is operable in both the constant torque and constant horsepower modes. The transfer characteristics of the circuit provide high gain at low frequencies and low gain at higher frequencies. The circuit can further reduce the gain at low frequencies when motor operation switches from the constant torque mode to the constant horsepower mode. United States Patent No. 3,694,715 issued to Van Der Linde et al discloses a contactless dc motor reversing circuit. The current from a variable frequency, pulsed dc source is applied to the series field by a pair of solid state switching devices for forward motor rotation. A second pair of solid state switching devices applies current for reverse motor rotation. Common to both switching devices is a third switching device which normally carries the induced armature current between pulses. It is de-energized during transfer of conduction between both pairs of switching devices, assuring that the blocking state of one pair occurs before the second pair is turned on. United States Patent No. 4,264,846 issued to Sauer et al discloses a speed control braking circuit for a dc motor. The field and armature currents are independent of each other to allow motor operation in the field weakening region. The armature current is set by a pulsing dc element. The field winding is contained in a series circuit with a switch which is connected in parallel with the dc element. Shunted across the field winding is a field current bypass diode. The document IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. IE.-34, Nr.4, November 87, pages 433 to 440, describes a known microprocessor-based high efficiency drive of a dc motor having a speed feed-back loop, wherein an actual motor speed is compared with a reference speed to calculate the speed error feeding the speed control, the output thereof determining the armature voltage. The speed feed-back loop uses the optimal ratio speed curve, wherein values of the optimal ratio 1/k are tabulated in a look-up table according to the motor speed to find out the reference field current which is a multiple of armature current and 1/k. The reference field current is compared with the actual field current and the field voltage is controlled via a current controller. According to its optimum control feeder, the known control system achieves control of the dc motor so that the speed remains constant when the load torque varies for a certain unit step change. The behaviour of the dc motor controlled in such an optimal ratio control mode upon large variations of the load torque is not described. Further, the speed reference signal is the only reference signal to be applied to that known motor control system. The known microprocessor-based control apparatus for a direct current machine drive system disclosed in US-A-4,484,117 is also directed to optimum ratio control. To achieve real time machine efficiency, a micro-computer included in a speed feed-back loop computes optimum armature current and optimum machine air gap flux. Machine armature current and field current are regulated, respectively, by controlling machine armature voltage in response to the difference in magnitude between optimum armature current and actual armature current and by controlling machine field voltage responsive to the difference in magnitude between optimum machine air gap flux and optimum machine armature flux, respectively. Also in case of this known control apparatus only the reference speed signal is input to the speed control feed-back loop. FR-A-2,146,639 discloses a further known dc motor control apparatus by which the characteristics of a series-wound dc motor can be simulated using a shunt-wound dc motor. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a decoupling control apparatus in accordance with the features in the precharacterizing part of claim 1 which is capable to produce a variable torque while maintaining constant speed even if large differences of load torque are required to be driven by the dc motor. The above main object is solved by the features comprised in the characterizing portion of claim 1. Dependent claims 2 to 5 each characterize advantageous developments thereof. Independent field and armature control enables control of a motor anywhere along, and below its characteristic commutation curve limit. While a bypass contactor may be employed across the armature voltage switching device to reduce power losses, independent field control extends controllability of the motor, thereby making the system less sensitive to variations in load capacities, travel path conditions and grade variations. A shunt-wound dc motor is the main motive mechanism replacement for the traditional series-wound dc motor. The shunt-wound dc motor's field windings require far less current than its series-wound counterpart, thereby making it economically feasible to apply full variability (voltage switching) field control. Field and armature voltage switching is achieved through the utilization of power transistors as opposed to the traditional SCR's. Although SCR's provide an inexpensive means of voltage switching, they are limited in switching speed and require additional circuitry due to their non-self-commutating characteristics. The use of such a system results in many benefits including, but not limited to, precise velocity control, precise torque control, optimized efficiency, increased performance, increased reliability and decreased cost-of-ownership. A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when taken in conjunction with the detailed description thereof and in which: FIGURE 1 is a graphical representation of a typical speed-torque relationship for series-wound dc motor; FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of a multi-variable coupled system representation of a shunt-wound dc motor showing its particular internal channel transfer functions; FIGURE 3 is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment of a dc motor control circuit in accordance with the present invention; FIGURE 4 is a block diagram of the decoupling control system; and FIGURE 5 is a flow chart of decoupling controller operation. Before describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is desirable to discuss briefly the speed-torque characteristics of a series-wound dc motor. Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a typical speed-torque graph for a series-wound dc motor showing the characteristic commutation limit, field current I f lines, and the armature current I a lines. As discussed above, under conventional control a dc motor is restricted to operation along its characteristic commutation limit as represented by the motor rotational speed W m and motor shaft torque loading T L . Hence, as can be seen from FIGURE 1, a change in T L results in a change in W m . However, under independent and fully variable field and armature control, a change in T L may not necessarily result in a change in W m . Rather, a control system in accordance with the present invention, and described in greater detail hereinbelow, can select a new motor operating point through I a and I f under the commutation limit resulting in an unchanged W m for the new torque loading value T L . Referring now to FIGURE 2, there is shown a block diagram of a multi-variable coupled system representation of a series- or shunt-wound dc motor. An applied armature voltage V a and an applied field voltage V f are input to a motor 10. The physical transformations within the motor 10 may be suitably represented by cross channel transfer functions 12, to produce the motor rotational speed W m and armature current I a as outputs. From an analysis of a series- or shunt-wound dc motor, it can be seen that the motor 10 consists of two first-order and two second-order dynamic systems. Such a motor system may be represented in the s-domain (Laplace transformation) by the transfer functions G₁₁(s), G₁₂(s), G₂₁(s) and G₂₂(s). These transfer functions 12 are representative of the particular channels of the motor system defined as follows, G₁₁(s) = W m (s)/V a (s) G₁₂(s) = W m (s)/V f (s) G₂₁(s) = I a (s)/V a (s) G₂₂(s) = I a (s)/V f (s) where G₁₁(s) and G₁₂(s) are first-order systems, and G₂₁(s) and G₂₂(s) are second-order systems. Determination of these transfer functions 12 is analytical as well as experimental. Referring now also to FIGURE 3, there is shown a schematic diagram of a dc motor control circuit, shown generally as reference numeral 14, which provides independent control of a series- or shunt-wound dc motor by independently controlling its armature winding 44 and field winding 42. A load (not shown) is driven by the armature 44. A suitable means for providing a feedback signal proportional to the motor rotational speed is indicated by encoder 43, which is connected to armature 44. It will, of course, be obvious to those skilled in the art that encoder 43 is merely exemplary and that other devices or methods can be employed to perform the same speed sensing function. The primary components of motor control circuit 14 are a chopper circuit 18 which controls armature winding 44 and an H-Bridge circuit 16 which controls field winding 42. Two pairs of transistors 20, 24 and 26, 22 are connected to field winding 42, as shown. Power is supplied to motor control circuit 14 by a dc battery 48. A main power contactor 56 is connected to battery 48 and chopper circuit 18 and H-Bridge circuit 16. Main contactor 56 enables system shut down should any system element fail. A chopper circuit fuse 52 is connected between main contactor 56 and chopper circuit 18 to limit excessive current to chopper circuit 18. An H-Bridge circuit fuse 54 is connected between main contactor 56 and H-Bridge circuit 16 to limit excessive current to H-Bridge circuit 16. Power regulation through armature winding 44 and field winding 42 is achieved through transistors 19 (in chopper circuit 18) and transistors 20, 22, 24 and 26 (in H-Bridge circuit 16). Control of transistors 19, 20, 22, 24 and 26 is achieved through driving circuits 17, 21, 23, 25 and 27, respectively. Motor rotation direction is dictated by the field winding 42 orientation with respect to the armature winding 44. Field winding 42 orientation is controlled by transistor pairs 22, 26 and 20, 24. The ON-OFF ratio of transistors 19, 20, 22, 24 and 26 results in an average applied terminal voltage to armature winding 44 and field winding 42, respectively. As such, totally independent and fully variable control of armature winding 44 and field winding 42 is achieved. Polarized snubber circuits 36 and 38 are provided in H-Bridge circuit 16 and chopper circuit 18 respectively to: a) absorb switching power losses of transistors 19 (in chopper circuit 18), and transistors 20, 22, 24, 26 (in H-Bridge circuit 16); b) prevent secondary breakdown due to localized heating effects during turn-on and turn-off of transistors; and c) prevent spurious turn-on of transistors due to dV/dt. Free wheeling diodes 28, 29, 30, 32 and 34 provide a path for current upon turn-off of transistors 19, 20, 22, 24 and 26, respectively. Another free wheeling diode 35 is provided across armature 44, also to provide a current path when chopper circuit transistor 19 is turned off. A dI/dt limiting inductor 37 is provided between H-Bridge circuit fuse 54 and H-Bridge circuit 16 to restrict the rate of rise of current through the H-Bridge circuit 16. This dI/dt limiting inductor 37 protects the H-Bridge circuit transistors 20, 22, 24 and 26 from armature voltage spikes. A pair of back to back breakdown diodes 47, 49 and a resistor 45 form a tranzorb 40 across field winding 42 to limit the field voltage. A regeneration diode 46 connected across transistor 19 provides recirculation of load current back to battery 48 during part of the motor deceleration cycle. A bypass contactor 50 connected across transistor 19 eliminates the power loss in transistor 19 during sustained high speed travel. Referring now also to FIGURE 4, there is shown a schematic block diagram of the separately excited dc motor decoupling control system. Armature voltage control amplifier 86 adjusts armature voltage I a 94, which causes the speed of motor 44 to vary. Encoder 43 is connected to motor 44 to sense rotational speed thereof and to generate a continuous signal representative of such new motor rotation speed W m . A programmable, microprocessor-based decoupling control system is shown generally at reference numeral 71. The functions of control system 71 can be accomplished by a processor such as a Model No. 68HC11 microprocessor manufactured by Motorola Corp. The unfiltered motor rotational speed reference W mref and the unfiltered armature current reference I aref are input via respective lines 68 and 70 to control system 71 and more specifically to a filter 72. Within filter 72 is a 2x2 filter matrix Q 74. Using basic matrix algebra, the desired motor rotational speed reference W mref and desired armature current reference I aref are transformed to produce filtered input references R₁ and R₂ applied to lines 76 and 78, respectively. Also within processor control system 71 is a controller 100. Motor outputs of armature current I a and the sensed rotational speed W m are input via respective lines 96 and 98 to controller 100. Within controller 100 is a 2x2 feedback controller matrix F 99. Since 1x2 matrix y consists of signals I a and W m , by performing basic matrix algebra, controller 100 produces conditioned motor outputs Fy₁ and Fy₂ applied over lines 101 and 103. Filtered input references R₁ and R₂ enter summers 80 and 82 over lines 76 and 78, respectively. Also entering summers 80 and 82 over lines 101 and 103 are conditioned motor outputs Fy₁ and Fy₂, respectively. Summer 80 produces an armature control voltage V aref applied to line 84. This can be represented mathematically as V aref = R₁ - Fy₁. In the same manner, summer 82 produces a field control voltage reference V fref applied to line 88. Together, armature control voltage V aref and field control voltage V fref form the system control effort as a function of filtered input references R₁, R₂ and conditioned motor outputs Fy₁, Fy₂. The existing control effort is then applied to the motor 44 and field 42 as follows. Armature control voltage reference V aref enters an armature voltage control amplifier 86, which amplifies armature control voltage reference V aref to produce armature voltage V a 94, which is then applied to motor 44, which provides an armature current I a over line 96. While the motor is generally referred to as reference numeral 44, also included in the motor are armature resistance R a and armature inductance L a . Field control voltage reference V fref enters a field voltage control amplifier 90, which amplifies field control voltage reference V fref to produce a field voltage V f 92, which is then applied to field 42. While the field is generally referred to as reference numeral 42, also included in the field are field resistance R f and field inductance L f . Referring now also to FIGURE 5, there is shown a flow chart of decoupling controller operations. It should be noted that the diagram represents only one of a series of repeating cycles. Data representative of armature current I a and motor rotational speed W m is entered, step 110. Desired output matrix R and motor output matrix y are read, step 112. Desired output matrix R is a matrix of unfiltered input armature current and motor rotational speed references, I a and W m . Matrix y is the actual motor rotation speed W m and armature current I a . Filter matrix Q filters input references, step 114, to result in filtered input references R₁ and R₂. Feedback controller matrix F, step 116, conditions motor outputs I a , W m to result in Fy₁, Fy₂. The applied control voltage (effort) V ref is then calculated (summed) as the difference between filtered input reference R and conditioned motor output Fy. Matrix V ref is an armature control voltage reference V aref and a field control voltage reference V fref . The applied control voltage effort V ref is then applied to motor, step 120, and the cycle repeats.

Claims: An apparatus for decoupling controlling a dc motor having separately excited armature and field windings, comprising: a) said dc motor (44) having an armature winding (La) and a field winding (Lf), said windings being independently controlled; b) armature voltage amplifying means (86) operatively connected to the armature of said motor (44) for varying armature voltage (Va) applied thereto; c) armature current sensing means (96) operatively connected to said armature for sensing armature current and providing a sensed armature current signal (Ia); d) field voltage amplifying means (90) operatively connected to the field winding of said motor for varying field voltage (Vf) applied thereto; e) motor speed sensing means (93) for generating a signal (Wm) representative of the rotational speed of said motor armature, and f) means (68) for providing a first reference signal (Wmref) proportional to a desired motor speed, characterized in that said decoupling control apparatus further comprises g) means (70) for providing a second reference signal (Iaref) proportional to a desired armature current, wherein said first and said second reference signals (Wmref and Iaref), said rotational speed signal (Wm) and said sensed armature current signal (Ia) are received by a decoupling controlling means (71), which is operatively connected to said armature voltage amplifying means (86) and to said field voltage amplifying means (90) and comprises: filter means (72, 74) producing filtered input reference signals (R₁ and R₂) on the basis of said first and second reference signals (Wmref, Iaref) and applying said filtered input reference signals (R₁ and R₂) to a first and second summing means (80, 82), respectively; and a controller (100) for producing conditioned motor outputs (FY1, FY2), respectively applied to said first and second summing means (80, 82) , said first summing means (80) producing an armature current voltage reference (V aref ) applied to said armature voltage amplifying means (86) and said second summing means (82) producing a field control voltage reference (Vfref) applied to said field voltage amplifying means (90). The decoupling control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a chopper circuit (18) including a power semiconductor (19) operatively connected to the armature of said motor (44) for controlling armature voltage (Va), and a H-bridge circuit (16) including two pairs of semiconductors (20, 24 and 16, 22) being connected to said field winding (42) for providing voltage regulation of the field voltage (Vf) and controlling the direction of rotation of said motor. The decoupling control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising field current sensing means operatively connected to said field voltage amplifying means (90) for sensing the field current (If). The decoupling control appartus according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said motor speed sensing means (43) comprises an encoder. The decoupling control apparatus according to one of the claims 1 to 4, said decoupling controlling means (71) operating in accordance with computer software instructions.

Inventors: AVITAN ISAAC, AVITAN, ISAAC
Applicants: RAYMOND CORP, RAYMOND CORPORATION
Application year: 1991
Main classification: H02P5
IPC codes: H02P7, B60L11