The Boeing Company

John Edwards

Michael Strasik

Arthur C Day

John A Mittleider

Kevin Earl McCrary

Philip E Johnson

Brij B Bhargava

Mark David Higgins

Longya Xu

Richard A Hawkins

James R Schindler

A method of operating a production line comprises the steps of supporting equipment in the production line on a plurality of crawlers comprising at least one rolling track and a structural support for supporting the equipment. A first plurality of lifting magnets coupled to an interior surface of said at least one rolling track is configured to oppose a second plurality of lifting magnets coupled to an exterior surface of said structure support to lift the structural support, such that the structural support floats between and within said at least one rolling track. The magnetic fields experienced by the first and second plurality of lift magnets are adjusted to translate the at least one rolling track, such that the crawlers move along the production line.

Method of operating a production line

An equipment-carrying crawler () includes a rolling track () and a structural support (). The structural support () supports equipment (). Lifting magnets () are coupled to the rolling track () and to the structural support (). The lifting magnets () are configured to oppose each other, lift the structural support (), and aid in the translation of the rolling track ().

Superconducting crawler system for a production line

A method for driving a neutral point clamped three-level inverter is provided. In one exemplary embodiment, DC current is received at a neutral point-clamped three-level inverter. The inverter has a plurality of nodes including first, second and third output nodes. The inverter also has a plurality of switches. Faults are checked for in the inverter and predetermined switches are automatically activated responsive to a detected fault such that three-phase electrical power is provided at the output nodes.

Fault-tolerant three-level inverter

A method for driving a neutral point-clamped multi-level voltage source inverter supplying a synchronous motor is provided. A DC current is received at a neutral point-clamped multi-level voltage source inverter. The inverter has first, second, and third output nodes. The inverter also has a plurality of switches. A desired speed of a synchronous motor connected to the inverter by the first second and third nodes is received by the inverter. The synchronous motor has a rotor and the speed of the motor is defined by the rotational rate of the rotor. A position of the rotor is sensed, current flowing to the motor out of at least two of the first, second, and third output nodes is sensed, and predetermined switches are automatically activated by the inverter responsive to the sensed rotor position, the sensed current, and the desired speed.

Control method for peak power delivery with limited DC-bus voltage

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Kent, WA, United States of America

John Edwards