The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 03, 2015
Filed:
Sep. 23, 2011
Michele Berto Boscolo, Sottomarina, IT;
Michele Berto Boscolo, Sottomarina, IT;
STMicroelectronics S.r.l., Agrate Brianza, IT;
Abstract
An apparatus detects the position of a rotor of an electric motor having three phases and a plurality of windings. The apparatus includes circuitry configured to connect at least two of said windings between first and second reference voltages according to a first current path disconnect said at least two windings, and allow the current stored in said two windings to be discharged through a second current path. The apparatus comprises a measuring circuit configured to measure the time period between the starting instant of storing the current in the two windings and the final instant of discharging the two windings and a rotor detector configured to detect the rotor position based at least in part on the measured time period.