Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated

Reliance Electric Technologies, LLC

John M Kasunich

David W Pfeifer

Richard H Sheppard

Semyon Royak

Robert J Breitzmann

Richard H Radosevich

Stephen E Denning

Michael J Melfi

Mark Melvin Harbaugh

John James Jenks

Daniel Pixler

Brian T Concannon

Apparatus and methods are presented for mitigating overvoltages and limiting reverse motor speeds for motor drive power loss events, in which a first power dissipation circuit is enabled at the motor drive output to limit reverse rotation of a driven motor load when motor drive power is lost, and a second power dissipation circuit in a DC bus circuit is used to mitigate over voltages following restoration of motor drive power.

Method and apparatus for overvoltage protection and reverse motor speed control for motor drive power loss events

Active front end power conversion systems are presented having a peak detector with adjustable decay providing a signal to an overload protection component to selectively discontinue rectifier switching control signals for protection of active rectifier switches during unbalanced line voltage conditions.

Active front end power converter with diagnostic and failure prevention using peak detector with decay

A technique is provided for verifying the proper selection, installation, communication and operability of components in power electronic systems, such as motor drives. A processing circuit is coupled to multiple components or subsystems that identify themselves to the processing system. An identification code is stored that is compared to a similar code built based upon the information reported by the components at the time of commissioning, operation or servicing. If the comparison indicates that all components are properly installed, and communicating and operative, operation may continue. The technique may be applied in parallel motor drives at a power layer level to allow separate and parallel verification of component and component operation in the parallel drives.

Motor drive component verification system and method

A system and method for protecting a motor drive unit from an associated motor includes a motor drive unit protection system. The motor drive unit protection system includes at least one switch configured to be connected between a motor drive unit and a plurality of motor leads of the motor driven by the motor drive unit. The motor drive unit protection system also includes a controller configured to monitor the motor drive unit or the motor to determine a fault condition indicative of the motor potentially operating as a generator. Upon determining the fault condition, the controller is configured to cause the at least one switch to connect the plurality of motor leads together to protect the motor drive unit from the motor when the motor is operating as a generator.

System and method for protecting a motor drive unit from motor back EMF under fault conditions

An electronic converter assembly including a liquid cooled heat sink member having a sink length dimension, at least one mounting surface and first and second oppositely facing lateral surfaces, the mounting surface and first and second lateral surfaces forming first and second lateral edges, respectively, the sink member also forming at least one internal channel that extends substantially along the entire sink length, an inlet and an outlet that open into opposite ends of the channel, a plurality of power switching devices mounted side by side to the mounting surface thereby forming a single device row that extends substantially along the sink length, each device including intra-converter terminals that are substantially within a single connection plane, a plurality of capacitors, each capacitor including capacitor connection terminals, the capacitors linked for support to and adjacent the sink member with the capacitor terminals juxtaposed substantially within the connection plane and a linkage assembly including a plurality of conductors that link the capacitor terminals to the intra-converter terminals to form a power conversion topology.

Compact liquid converter assembly

An electronic converter assembly comprising first and second liquid cooled heat sink members, each sink member having at least one sink mounting surface, first and second pluralities of power switching devices, each switching device including connection terminals, the first and second pluralities of switching devices mounted to the first and second sink mounting surfaces, respectively and a planar laminated bus bar including a plurality of conductors that link the power switching device connection terminals to form a power conversion topology.

An electronic converter assembly comprising a first heat sink member having at least a first mounting surface and a length dimension, a plurality of power switching device modules wherein each module includes at least four separate power switching devices, the modules mounted to the first sink mounting surface such that the switching devices are aligned along the length of the sink member, each switching device including inter-converter connection terminals linkable to at least one of a load and a source and intra-converter connection terminals linkable, each intra-converter connection terminal linkable to at least one of a positive and a negative DC bus, first, second and third bus bars, each bus bar linked to the inter-converter connection terminals of at least first and second pairs of the power switching devices where the at least first and second pairs of power switching devices linked to specific ones of the bus bars are from different switching device modules and a linkage assembly including a plurality of conductors that link the intra-converter connection terminals of the power switching devices to form a power conversion topology.

Bus bar assembly for use with a compact power conversion assembly

An apparatus for linking together power switching devices having intra-converter connection terminals to form a power conversion assembly, the apparatus comprising a planar bus bar including positive and negative DC bus layers and insulating layers that insulate each of the DC bus layers, the bar also including at least a first external insulating layer that forms a first external surface of the bar, the bar also forming at least first and second linking edges and first and second pluralities of linkages formed along the first and second linking edges, respectively, each linkage linked to one of the positive and negative DC bus layers and configured to be linkable to at least one of the power switching device intra-converter connection terminals, in some cases positive and negative DC bus linkages are also provided to render the conversion assembly extremely versatile.

Laminated bus bar for use with a power conversion configuration

An apparatus for sinking heat away from a plurality of power switching devices where each power switching device includes a heat dissipating surface having a dissipating width dimension and having a device length dimension perpendicular to the dissipating width dimension, the apparatus comprising a heat sink member having a sink length dimension between inlet and outlet ends, forming an internal channel that extends substantially along the entire sink length dimension and also forming inlet and outlet ports that open into the channel at the inlet and outlet ends, respectively, the sink including first and second oppositely facing surfaces, the second surface for receiving the heat dissipating surfaces of the power switching devices, the second surface having a receiving width dimension that is substantially perpendicular to the sink length dimension and that is less than twice the device dissipating width dimension.

Elongated heat sink for use in converter assemblies

A low profile shunt has an electrically insulated substrate with opposing electrical terminals joined to a sensing device by two electrically conductive layers. The conductive layers are laminated on each side of a shunt layer extending between the terminals. An insulating tape insulates the copper foil conductive and shunt layers from each other between the terminals. The sensing element is a measuring resistor having a resistive value many times greater than that of the shunt layer such that relatively low current measurements may by made at the sensing element.

Growing community of inventors

Mayfield Heights, OH, United States of America

John M Kasunich