Patent · US Expired

Circuitry for determining actuator position

US6078154A · kind A · utility

30Cited by
12References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 12, 1999
Grant dateJun 20, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 12, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S388/909
  • WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Circuitry (100, 100') for determining actuator position includes four MOS transistors (T1-T4) connected to each side of a bi-directional motor (10). The current flowing through the motor (10) at any given time is proportional to voltages developed across the internal impedances of the transistors (T1-T4). The resulting motor voltages are amplified and high-pass filtered to remove any DC offsets due to the signal amplification. The conditioned motor voltages are then compared to one or more threshold voltages and passed through a one shot circuit (120) to provide detectable pulses for each motor commutation event. Circuitry (106,107) is provided for counting pulses provided by the one shot circuit (120) and, based on a desired motor position, for providing a number of digital control signals to a digital control circuit (104). Digital control circuit (104) is responsive to the number of digital control signals to control the gate voltages of the four transistors (T1-T4) to thereby control the position of the motor (10).

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.