Patent GB-1383941-A (GB)
Title: Adjustable speed polyphase ac motor drive utilizing an in-phase current signal for motor control
Inventor: GRAF C
IPC: G05D13/62
Filed: 1972-04-26
Abstract: 1383941 Automatic speed and voltage control GENERAL ELECTRIC CO 26 April 1972 [28 May 1971] 19343/72 Heading G3R [Also in Division H2] An adjustable speed drive system for a polyphase A.C. motor has an inverter with frequency and time-ratio-control as described in Specification 1362849 and means to derive a phase control signal proportional to the average magnitude of the component of the current in at least one of the motor phases in phase with the voltage of that phase, which control signal is used to vary at least the output voltage of the inverter. Fig. 2, shows a control system whose components 12, 14, 16, 18, 82, 84, 86, 88 are generally similar to those of Specification 1362849 and which controls an induction motor 10 to maintain a substantially constant speed and excitation voltage during motoring and regenerating conditions. To this end phase control signal generators 150, 152, 154 receive signals representative of the currents and voltages in the motor phases from current transformers 66, 68, 70 and the flip-flop three-phase generator (122) of the frequency generator 82, Fig. 3 (not shown) the latter (voltage) signals being of square waveform to cause each phase generator 150, 152, 154 to produce a signal representative of the average magnitude of the in-phase component of current during a predetermined polarity of the phase voltage. These signals 170, 172, 174 are fed to a summing amplifier 176 whose output signal 178 is a composite control signal proportional to the motor torque and slip. This signal is supplied through adjustable and fixed resistors 182, 184 to the command amplifier 88 which also receives from a source 64 a signal representative of the desired motor speed, the source 64 comprising for example an adjustable reference voltage or the output of a computer or a tachometer driven by the master drive of a multi-drive system. The composite control. signal is also used to derive a signal 146 representative of the voltage (IZ) drop in the motor stator, the signal 146 being applied to the time-ratio-control regulating circuit 84 to maintain a constant motor excitation voltage and being derived from a combination of the composite control signal applied through a  resistor 188 (giving IR drop) and through a field effect transistor 194 and resistor 196 (giving IX drop), the transistor 194 being controlled by a signal from the frequency generator 82 representative of the inverter frequency. In operation the inverter frequency is increased or decreased by the control system in response to increase or decrease in motor slip during motoring operation and vice versa during regeneration. Similarly the inverter output voltage is increased or decreased in response to increase or decrease in motor load during motoring operation and vice versa during regeneration. Current limiting during motoring and regenerating operation is respectively provided by signals 94, 96 which respectively vary the motor speed and the inverter frequency. Motor reversal is provided by switching the inter-connections of the flip-flop three-phase generator (122) of the frequency generator 82. Derivation of the in-phase components of current Each phase signal control generator is shown in Fig. 4 and comprises, as described for generator 150, a field effect transistor 210 which passes the output current of the transformer 202 to the inverting input 236 of an operational amplifier 238, the transistor 210 being made conductive during the positive portion of the square wave signal 164 applied to the base of a transistor 214 from the flip-flop three-phase generator of the frequency generator 82. Thus the phase difference between the current and voltage of phase A will cause the bi-directional FET 210 to pass positive and negative current during the positive half-cycle of the phase voltage, to produce a phase control signal whose average magnitude is proportional to the average magnitude of the current component in phase with the voltage. If the phase voltages and currents are not symmetrical and do not have substantially equal positive and negative values, the phase control signals may be obtained over full voltage cycles by using more than one field effect transistor in each control signal generator 150, 152, 154.