Teleflex Canada Incorporated

Aleks Velhner

Neil Garfield Allyn

Terry Moreau

There is provided an energy discharge apparatus for dissipating a quantity of stored magnetic energy in a generator field coil of a brushless generator. The apparatus includes an exciter regulator responsive to an output signal of the generator and which provides an exciter field signal, and an exciter field coil responsive to the exciter field signal and which provides an exciter magnetic field, and an exciter armature coil responsive to the exciter magnetic field and which provides an exciter armature signal. The apparatus further includes a control circuit responsive to the exciter armature signal, and a variable impedance in series with the generator field coil and responsive to the control circuit. The variable impedance serves to dissipate the quantity of stored magnetic energy. In another embodiment the apparatus includes a positive feedback circuit responsive to the exciter armature signal and operable to dissipate the quantity of stored magnetic energy. The positive feedback circuit is further responsive to the dissipation of the quantity of stored magnetic energy such that a rate of dissipation increases until the quantity of stored magnetic energy substantially reduces to an ineffective amount.

Energy discharge apparatus

An apparatus for regulating a transient response of an output signal of an electrical generator. The apparatus comprises a tapped output winding means for providing a first AC signal and a second AC signal. The first and second AC signals have respective RMS values. The RMS value of the first AC signal is greater than the RMS value of the second AC signal. An AC switching means for selecting between the first AC signal or the second AC signal, and thereby providing a switched AC signal which has a duty cycle. A rectifier means for rectifying the switched AC signal and providing a rectified DC signal. The rectified DC signal has a DC signal component, a square wave signal component and a ripple signal component. The square wave signal component has a duty cycle. The duty cycle of the square wave signal component is equal to the duty cycle of the switched AC signal. A filter means for filtering the rectified DC signal and for providing the output signal. The filter means is operable to filter the rectified DC signal by averaging the square wave component and filtering the ripple component. The AC switching means is responsive to the output signal to adjust the duty cycle of the switched AC signal to regulate the output signal.

Generator transient regulator

There is provided an adjustable integral component in a feedback loop of a closed loop control system. The closed loop control system controls an output signal of an electric generator. The adjustable integral component provides an integral signal. The integral signal is proportional to the output signal in a first operational mode. The integral signal is proportional to a time integral of an output signal in a second operational mode. According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a non-linear component in a feedback loop of a closed loop control system. The closed loop control system controls an output signal of an electric generator. The electric generator having non-linear characteristics. The feedback loop has an error signal, of which the output signal is responsive to. The non-linear component receives a load signal and provides a non-linear signal related to the non-linear characteristics of the electric generator. The error signal is responsive to the non-linear signal. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of controlling a system variable in a control system for an electric generator. The output signal of the electric generator is sensed and a sample signal is provided thereof. The sample signal is compared to be below a threshold value, and accordingly an adjustable impedance is adjusted to be substantially resistive. A proportional signal and integral signal that are proportional to the sample signal are provided. A time derivative is taken of the sample signal to provide a differential signal. An error signal is generated by providing a difference between a reference signal and a sum of the proportional signal, the integral signal and the differential signal. The output signal is then adjusted based on the error signal, by driving the output signal towards the set-point value. The sample signal is then compared to be above the threshold value, and accordingly the adjustable impedance is adjusted to be substantially capacitive. The integral signal now being representative of a time integral of the sample signal.

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Richmond, CA, United States of America

Aleks Velhner