Texas Instruments Corporation

Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

David L Wilson

David Patrick Magee

Jorge Zambada Tinoco

Bradley C Stewart

Sergio Garcia De Alba Garcin

Rogelio Reyna Garcia

Gabriel Sanchez Barba

An adaptive torque disturbance cancellation method and motor control system for rotating a load are described. The system has: (i) a speed controller for receiving a first input signal indicating a desired motor speed and, in response, for outputting a motor control signal; (ii) current sensing circuitry for sensing current through a motor that rotates in response to the speed controller; (iii) circuitry for storing, into a storage device, history data representative of the current through a motor when the motor operates to rotate the load; and (iv) circuitry for modifying the motor control signal in response to the history data.

Adaptive torque disturbance cancellation for electric motors

An electric field sensor may be used to detect accumulation of frozen material. In one embodiment, an e-field system includes a first electrode, a second electrode located at a distance from the first electrode, the second electrode forming a capacitive element with the first electrode, wherein a gap is present between the first and second electrodes, and an electric field sensor having an electrode terminal coupled to the first electrode and providing an electric field output value representative of an amount of frozen material located in the gap between the first and second electrodes. The system may also include a first insulator adjacent the first electrode and outside the gap, and a conductive layer adjacent the first insulator, where the first insulator is between the first electrode and the conductive layer, and where a shield output of the electric field sensor is coupled to the conductive layer.

Frozen material detection using electric field sensor

A device, method, and computer readable medium are used in connection with providing an indication of zero crossings corresponding to a signal. The signal () is received. Noise is removed from the signal (). In response to the signal with noise removed (), pairs of points and a time value corresponding to each point are determined (), wherein the points of each pair are proximate to a predetermined change in an amplitude of the signal. In response to the pairs and the corresponding time values (), a zero crossing time is determined for each pair (). A variation in the plurality of zero crossing times () is corrected (). A signal () or indication representative of the corrected zero crossing times is output.

Method and system for indicating zero-crossings of a signal in the presence of noise

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Muskego, WI, United States of America

David L Wilson