阅读说明：本技术 识别无刷dc马达的种类的识别方法、识别装置以及无刷dc马达 (Identification method and identification device for identifying type of brushless DC motor, and brushless DC motor ) 是由 竹本秀幸 于 2018-11-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供无刷DC马达的识别方法,能够在不特别进行握手的情况下识别与无刷DC马达相关的信息。本公开的识别方法包含以下内容：无刷DC马达(200)具有连接在电源线和GND线之间的至少一个电阻元件(251)、驱动马达的逆变器(230)、以及切换所述电源线与逆变器(230)的连接和非连接的切换电路(270),从识别装置(100)经由电源线向无刷DC马达(200)提供输入电压,通过切换电路而将逆变器从电源线切断,在使逆变器的驱动停止的状态下,读出至少一个电阻元件的电阻值,根据所读出的至少一个电阻元件的电阻值来识别与无刷DC马达相关的信息。(Provided is a method for identifying a brushless DC motor, which can identify information related to the brushless DC motor without performing any special handshake. The identification method of the present disclosure includes the following contents: a brushless DC motor (200) is provided with at least one resistance element (251) connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter (230) for driving the motor, and a switching circuit (270) for switching connection and disconnection between the power supply line and the inverter (230), wherein an input voltage is supplied from a recognition device (100) to the brushless DC motor (200) via the power supply line, the inverter is disconnected from the power supply line by the switching circuit, a resistance value of the at least one resistance element is read in a state where driving of the inverter is stopped, and information relating to the brushless DC motor is recognized on the basis of the read resistance value of the at least one resistance element.)

1. An identification method used in an identification device that identifies information relating to a brushless DC motor output from the brushless DC motor, wherein,

the brushless DC motor has at least one resistance element connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter that drives the motor, and a switching circuit that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line to the inverter,

providing an input voltage from the identification device to the brushless DC motor via the power line,

the inverter is cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit,

reading a resistance value of the at least one resistance element in a state where driving of the inverter is stopped,

identifying information related to the brushless DC motor based on the sensed resistance value of the at least one resistive element.

2. The identification method according to claim 1,

the switching circuit includes a low-voltage protection circuit that cuts off the inverter from the power supply line when a level of the input voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value,

in the supply of the input voltage, the input voltage of a level equal to or lower than the threshold value is supplied via the power supply line.

3. The identification method according to claim 2,

the threshold value is set to be lower than the lower limit value of the range of the operating power supply voltage used for driving the motor at normal times.

4. The identification method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the information related to the brushless DC motor indicates a kind of the brushless DC motor,

assigning an intrinsic resistance to the at least one resistive element that differs according to the type of the plurality of brushless DC motors,

in the reading of the resistance value, the value of the inherent resistance is read out as the inherent information of the brushless DC motor by the resistance value detector,

in the identification of the information on the brushless DC motor, the type of the brushless DC motor is identified from the read value of the inherent resistance.

5. The identification method according to claim 4,

in the identification of the type of the brushless DC motor, the type of the brushless DC motor is identified from the read value of the specific resistance by referring to a table in which the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors and specific information of the plurality of brushless DC motors are associated with each other.

6. The identification method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

further, the result of identifying the information related to the brushless DC motor is notified using the identifying means.

7. The identification method according to claim 4 or 5,

further, based on the result of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor, the light emitting element assigned to the brushless DC motor to be identified is caused to emit light from among the plurality of light emitting elements assigned according to the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors.

8. The identification method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the brushless DC motor is a fan motor having an impeller.

9. An identification device that identifies information relating to a brushless DC motor, wherein,

the brushless DC motor has at least one resistance element connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter that drives the motor, and a switching circuit that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line to the inverter,

the identification device has: a power supply terminal for providing an input voltage to the brushless DC motor via the power supply line; and a controller that identifies information related to the brushless DC motor,

the controller reads out a resistance value of the at least one resistance element in a state where the input voltage is supplied to the brushless DC motor and the inverter is cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit to stop driving of the inverter,

the controller identifies information related to the brushless DC motor according to the read resistance value of the at least one resistance element.

10. A brushless DC motor, having:

a circuit board;

a power supply terminal configured on the circuit board for providing an input voltage from outside;

an inverter that drives the motor;

at least one resistance element connected between a GND line and a power supply line connected to the power supply terminal, and having a resistance value larger than a direct current resistance of the motor; and

a switching circuit that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line and the inverter, and that has a low-voltage protection circuit that cuts off the inverter from the power supply line when a level of the input voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value,

in a state where the input voltage of a level equal to or lower than the threshold value is supplied via the power supply terminal, and the inverter is disconnected from the power supply line by the switching circuit to stop driving of the inverter, a current including information indicating a resistance value of the at least one resistance element flows in the power supply terminal.

11. The brushless DC motor of claim 10,

the threshold value is lower than the lower limit value of the range of the operating power supply voltage used in the normal motor drive.

12. The brushless DC motor according to claim 10 or 11,

the at least one resistance element has a resistance value that is 10 times or more the direct current resistance of the motor.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an identification method, an identification device, and a brushless DC motor for identifying a kind of the brushless DC motor.

Background

Many electronic apparatuses have, for example, a fan motor as a cooling device for releasing heat generated inside to the outside. In an electronic apparatus, a fan motor is electrically connected to a system controller, and operates under the control of the system controller.

U.S. patent application publication No. 2006/0152891 discloses an identification method for a fan motor to communicate with a system controller to obtain fan identification information. For example, when the mode is switched from the normal mode to the command mode, the fan motor and the system controller transmit and receive commands via a power supply line, a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) line, and a TACH (Tachometer) line. The system controller acquires fan identification information by handshake (handshake) to determine suitability with the fan motor. In this case, complicated control software such as switching between the normal mode and the command mode is required for both the system controller and the fan.

Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2014-128172 discloses a motor driving device including a regenerative power consumption unit having a regenerative resistor and an operation switch, and connected between dc buses. The operation switch is controlled by comparing the drive voltage and the regenerative voltage. By turning on the operation switch, the regenerative electric power from the motor can be consumed by the regenerative resistor.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the above-described prior art, a method of more simply identifying information related to a brushless DC motor is desired.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a brushless DC motor identification method and an identification device that can identify information related to the brushless DC motor without particularly performing handshake, for example.

Means for solving the problems

An exemplary recognition method of the present disclosure is a recognition method used in a recognition apparatus that recognizes information related to a brushless DC motor output from the brushless DC motor, wherein the recognition method includes: the brushless DC motor includes at least one resistance element connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter for driving the motor, and a switching circuit for switching connection and disconnection between the power supply line and the inverter, wherein an input voltage is supplied from the identification device to the brushless DC motor via the power supply line, the inverter is disconnected from the power supply line by the switching circuit, a resistance value of the at least one resistance element is read in a state where driving of the inverter is stopped, and information related to the brushless DC motor is identified based on the read resistance value of the at least one resistance element.

An exemplary identification device of the present disclosure identifies information related to a brushless DC motor having at least one resistance element connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter driving the motor, and a switching circuit switching connection and disconnection of the power supply line and the inverter, the identification device having: a power supply terminal for providing an input voltage to the brushless DC motor via the power supply line; and a controller that recognizes information related to the brushless DC motor, the controller reading a resistance value of the at least one resistance element in a state where the input voltage is supplied to the brushless DC motor and the inverter is disconnected from the power supply line by the switching circuit to stop driving of the inverter, the controller recognizing the information related to the brushless DC motor based on the read resistance value of the at least one resistance element.

An exemplary brushless DC motor of the present disclosure has: a circuit board; a power supply terminal configured on the circuit board for providing an input voltage from outside; an inverter that drives the motor; at least one resistance element connected between a GND line and a power supply line connected to the power supply terminal, and having a resistance value larger than a direct current resistance of the motor; and a switching circuit that switches connection and disconnection between the power supply line and the inverter, and that has a low-voltage protection circuit that cuts off the inverter from the power supply line when a level of the input voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value, wherein a current including information indicating a resistance value of the at least one resistance element flows in the power supply terminal in a state where the input voltage of the level equal to or lower than the threshold value is supplied via the power supply terminal and the inverter is cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit to stop driving of the inverter.

Effects of the invention

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a resistance value of at least one resistance element connected between a power supply line and a GND line and provided to a brushless DC motor is read in a state where an inverter of the brushless DC motor is stopped. Thus, a brushless DC motor identification method and an identification device capable of identifying information related to the brushless DC motor without handshaking are provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of an identification method of identifying a kind of a brushless DC motor of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a typical block configuration example of the user system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 of the illustrated embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of a block structure inside the user system 100.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing another block configuration example of the user system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 of the illustrated embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a table for identifying the kind of the brushless DC motor 200.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another identification method of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram schematically showing a modification of the block structure of the brushless DC motor 200 and the user system 100 of the illustrated embodiment 1.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the process of step S200 for reading the identification resistance value.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a table for identifying the type of the brushless DC motor using ASCII codes as unique information.

Fig. 11A is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration for identifying a deformation of the resistance unit 250.

Fig. 11B is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration for identifying a deformation of the resistance unit 250.

Fig. 11C is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration for identifying a deformation of the resistance unit 250.

Fig. 12A is a flowchart showing another specific example of the processing of step S200 for reading the identification resistance value.

Fig. 12B is a flowchart showing another specific example of the processing of step S200 for reading the identification resistance value.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram schematically showing a typical block configuration example of the user system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 of the illustrated embodiment 2.

Fig. 14 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the low-voltage protection circuit 272.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 16 is a block diagram schematically showing a typical block configuration example of the user system 100, the recognition device 100A, and the brushless DC motor 200 according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram schematically showing another block configuration example of the user system 100, the recognition device 100A, and the brushless DC motor 200 according to the exemplary embodiment 3.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of a recognition method and a recognition apparatus for recognizing the type of a brushless DC motor according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in order to avoid unnecessarily lengthy and easily understandable following description, sometimes over-detailed description is omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of already known matters and repetitive descriptions of substantially the same configuration may be omitted. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the devices or methods exemplified below. For example, one embodiment may be combined with another embodiment.

Before describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, an outline of the recognition method of the present disclosure will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 illustrates a flowchart of an identification method of identifying a kind of a brushless DC motor of the present disclosure.

The identification method of the present disclosure is an identification method used in an identification device that identifies information relating to a brushless DC motor output from the brushless DC motor. The brushless DC motor is typically a two-wire motor having a power supply terminal and a GND terminal, with at least one resistive element connected between the power supply line and the GND line. When a power supply voltage is supplied to the brushless DC motor via the power supply terminal, an identification current including identification information indicating a resistance value of at least one resistance element flows in the power supply terminal in a state where the inverter is stopped (turned off). In this specification, at least one resistance element is sometimes referred to as a "identifying resistance element", and its resistance value is sometimes referred to as an "identifying resistance value".

The identification method of the present disclosure includes the following steps: supplying a power supply voltage from the identification device to the brushless DC motor via the power supply line (step S100); reading a resistance value of at least one resistance element in a state where an inverter of the brushless DC motor is stopped (step S200); and identifying information related to the brushless DC motor based on the read resistance value of the at least one resistance element (step S300).

According to the identification method of the present disclosure, it is possible to identify various information related to the brushless DC motor output from the brushless DC motor. Such information is, for example, identification information of the brushless DC motor, a serial number, a lot number, a rated current, a rated voltage, or the like of the brushless DC motor. In the present specification, an embodiment for identifying the type of the brushless DC motor among various information on the brushless DC motor will be mainly described.

(embodiment mode 1)

[1-1. example of the configuration of the consumer system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 ]

Fig. 2 schematically shows a typical block configuration example of the consumer system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 of the present embodiment. In the present specification, the structure and operation of the brushless DC motor 200 will be described by taking a fan motor as an example. The brushless DC motor of the present disclosure includes an inner rotor type or an outer rotor type motor. The brushless DC motor 200 is not limited to a fan motor, and is a brushless DC motor used for various purposes. The brushless DC motor 200 is, for example, a motor used in home appliances such as an air conditioner and a washing machine, and a motor for mounting on a vehicle.

The user system 100 is electrically connected to the brushless DC motor 200. The user system 100 can supply power to the brushless DC motor 200. The user system 100 is a production management system that can be installed in a factory that produces a plurality of types of brushless DC motors. Further, the user system 100 is a system in an electronic device or a vehicle-mounted system in which the brushless DC motor 200 can be mounted. For example, brushless DC motor 200 is preferably mounted on a server, a main body of a desktop personal computer, or an electronic device such as a game machine. For example, when brushless DC motors 200 of different specifications are produced at the same site, the user system 100 is part of a series of inspection systems. Alternatively, when brushless DC motor 200 is mounted as a fan motor on a main body of a server or a desktop personal computer, user system 100 is a whole system or a part thereof composed of various electronic components mounted on a main board.

The user system 100 has, for example, a controller 110 and a memory 120. The consumer system 100 of the present embodiment has a function of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 as described later. In other words, the user system 100 can be used as an identification device that identifies the kind of the brushless DC motor 200. Therefore, in this specification, the user system 100 is sometimes referred to as the recognition apparatus 100.

The controller 110 mainly controls the entire user system 100, and can control power supply to the brushless DC motor 200. The controller 110 can also identify the kind of the brushless DC motor 200. The controller 110 is, for example, a semiconductor integrated circuit such as an MCU (micro control unit) or an FPGA (field programmable gate array).

The memory 120 is, for example, a writable memory (e.g., PROM), a rewritable memory (e.g., flash memory), or a read-only memory. The memory 120 stores, for example, a control program having a command set for causing the controller 110 to recognize the kind of the brushless DC motor 200. For example, the control program is loaded once in a RAM (not shown) at the time of startup. The memory 120 does not need to be externally connected to the controller 110, and may be mounted on the controller 110. The controller 110 having the memory 120 mounted thereon is, for example, the MCU described above.

The consumer system 100 has a Vmot terminal and a GND terminal as connection terminals to be connected to the brushless DC motor 200. The Vmot terminal is a terminal for a motor power supply. For example, a motor power supply voltage Vmot in the range of 7.0V to 13.8V is supplied from the Vmot terminal to the brushless DC motor 200.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a more detailed block structure example of the interior of the user system 100.

The user system 100 further includes, for example, a DC power supply 151, a resistance value detector 152, and a discriminator 153. When referring to the internal block structure of the user system 100 or the identification device 100, the components of the controller 110, the DC power supply 151, the resistance value detector 152, and the discriminator 153 may be collectively referred to as "the controller 110".

The DC power supply 151 mainly generates a motor power supply voltage Vmot (for example, 7.0V to 13.8V) to be supplied to the brushless DC motor 200 during normal motor driving. The normal motor drive means driving the motor in a state where the inverter 230 of the brushless DC motor 200 is operated by supplying power to the inverter 230.

The resistance value detector 152 can generate a power supply voltage to be supplied to the brushless DC motor 200 and supply the generated power supply voltage to the brushless DC motor 200 in recognition of the type of the brushless DC motor 200. The power supply voltage may be a voltage lower than the motor power supply voltage Vmot generated by the DC power supply 151. In addition, the resistance value detector 152 can detect the identification resistance value of the brushless DC motor 200 from the identification current and the power supply voltage flowing through the power supply line in identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200.

The discriminator 153 identifies the type of the brushless DC motor 200 based on the identification resistance value of the brushless DC motor detected by the resistance value detector 152. The discriminator 153 is typically mounted to the controller 110.

Reference is again made to fig. 2.

The brushless DC motor 200 is, for example, a DC fan having an impeller. The brushless DC motor 200 is, for example, an axial fan, a centrifugal fan, a cross flow fan, or a sirocco fan. The brushless DC motor 200 typically has a regulator 210, a motor drive IC220, an inverter 230, a circuit board CB on which these electronic components are mounted, a coil 240, a hall element 260, and a recognition resistance unit 250 having at least one resistance element 251. For example, the regulator 210, the motor drive IC220, the inverter 230, and the hall element 260 constitute a drive circuit for energizing the coil 240 to drive the motor.

The regulator 210 steps down the motor power supply voltage Vmot of, for example, 13.8V to generate a power supply voltage Vcc (for example, 5V) for the motor drive IC 220. In the brushless DC motor 200, the power supply voltage Vcc to be supplied to the motor drive IC220 is preferably generated from the motor power supply voltage Vmot. This eliminates the need to provide a terminal for power supply voltage Vcc in brushless DC motor 200, and thus reduces the number of terminals and leads. However, the power supply voltage Vcc may be supplied from the consumer system 100 to the brushless DC motor 200 in addition to the motor power supply voltage Vmot.

The motor drive IC220 is mounted with, for example, the MCU 221 and connected to the inverter 230. The MCU 221 generates a PWM signal for controlling the rotation of the motor. The motor drive IC220 generates a control signal for controlling the inverter 230 based on the PWM signal, and outputs the control signal to the inverter 230.

The MCU 221 incorporates a general timer function. Using this function, the MCU 221 can stop the generation of the PWM signal from the start of turning on the power supply voltage Vcc until a predetermined time elapses. The predetermined time is, for example, about 0.1 s. This can stop the driving of inverter 230 from the start of turning on power supply voltage Vcc until a predetermined time elapses.

The motor drive IC220 monitors the rotational speed of the motor based on the output from the hall element 260, for example, and generates a PWM signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the motor. The output is, for example, two pulses per 1 rotation. However, a technique not using a hall element is known. In the case where such a technique is employed, the hall element 260 is not necessary.

The inverter 230 is electrically connected to the motor drive IC220 and the coil 240 of the motor. The inverter 230 converts the power of the motor power supply into power to be supplied to the fan motor under the control of the motor drive IC220, and supplies power to the coil 240 of the motor.

The coil 240 is a winding of the motor.

The identification resistance unit 250 has at least one resistance element 251. In one mode, the at least one resistive element 251 is one resistive element. For example, the identifying resistor 251 has a resistance value 10 times or more the direct current resistance of the motor. With a large resistance value, power loss due to the identification resistor element 251 can be suppressed during normal motor driving. As the identifying resistance element 251, for example, a resistance element having a resistance value in a range of 1k Ω to 100k Ω can be used.

The resistance value of the identifying resistor 251 differs according to the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors. As the unique information of the brushless DC motor, unique resistances different for each of the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors can be assigned to the identifying resistor element 251.

For example, the identification resistance element may be assigned as the inherent information of the brushless DC motor by a vendor who manufactures the brushless DC motor. For example, a 20k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to vendor a, a 30k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to vendor B, and a 40k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to vendor C. Further, identification resistance elements having resistance values different from these may be respectively assigned to a plurality of suppliers.

For example, the identification resistance element may be assigned as inherent information by product lot. For example, a 20k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to product lot a, a 30k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to product lot B, and a 40k Ω identification resistive element may be assigned to product lot C. Further, identification resistance values different from these can be assigned to a plurality of product lot numbers, respectively. In this way, the plurality of brushless DC motors are, for example, in the number corresponding to the number of suppliers or in the number corresponding to the number of product lots to be managed.

The brushless DC motor 200 has, for example, a circuit board CB provided with a Vmot terminal and a GND terminal corresponding to terminals on the user system 100 side.

Fig. 4 schematically shows other block configuration examples of the user system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200.

The user system 100 may further have a light emitting element 130. the light emitting element 130 has, for example, a plurality of L ED (L highlighted Diode: light emitting Diode.) A plurality of L ED are notifying means for notifying the result of identification of the kind of the brushless DC motor 200. for example, a plurality of L ED may be set in a number corresponding to the kind of the plurality of brushless DC motors. for example, if there are two kinds of brushless DC motors of suppliers A and B, two L ED. having different light emission colors may be set, for example, red L ED for supplier A and blue L ED for supplier B may be used.

[1-2. method for identifying the type of brushless DC motor 200 ]

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a method of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to the present embodiment.

The recognition method according to the present embodiment is, for example, a method used in the recognition apparatus 100. In a process of manufacturing a variety of products on which motors are mounted, it is generally necessary to identify the type of the brushless DC motor 200 in order to prevent different types of motors from being mixed. For example, when a product is manufactured in a factory, the identification method of the present disclosure is preferably used in a method of checking the suitability of the brushless DC motor 200 with respect to the user system 100. For example, the process of checking the suitability of the brushless DC motor 200 can be incorporated into a part of the process of manufacturing a product.

(step S100)

First, in a state where the terminals of the recognition device 100 (the user system 100) and the brushless DC motor 200 are electrically connected to each other, a recognition power supply voltage is supplied from the recognition device 100 to the brushless DC motor 200. For example, the power supply voltage of 13.8V generated by the resistance value detector 152 is supplied to the brushless DC motor 200 as the identification power supply voltage. However, similarly to the case of normal driving, the motor power supply voltage Vmot may be supplied from the DC power supply 151 to the brushless DC motor 200 as the identification power supply voltage.

(step S210A)

Until a predetermined time (for example, 0.1s) elapses from the start of turning on the identification power supply voltage, the generation of the PWM signal is stopped using the timer function of the MCU 221 of the motor drive IC 220. Thereby, driving of the inverter 230 is stopped. In this state, the identification power supply voltage is supplied to the inverter 230, but the PWM signal is not input, and thus the driving of the inverter 230 is kept stopped. As a result, no electric power is supplied from the inverter 230 to the coil 240 of the motor.

(step S210B)

Using the identification device 100, the identification resistance value is read out as the unique information of the brushless DC motor 200 in the state where the inverter 230 is stopped. More specifically, the resistance value detector 152 of the identification device 100 is used to read out the identification resistance value as the unique information of the brushless DC motor 200 in a state where the inverter 230 is stopped. When the identification power supply voltage is turned on for the brushless DC motor 200, a current flowing through the identification resistance element 251 according to the identification resistance value flows through the resistance value detector 152. This is because no motor current flows in the motor. That is, only the identification current containing information identifying the resistance value flows to the resistance value detector 152. The resistance value detector 152 can detect the identification resistance value from the current value and the identification power supply voltage by measuring the identification current. On the other hand, when the inverter 230 is driven, the motor current flows and the current change becomes large, so that it is difficult to detect the identification resistance value.

(step S300)

The type of the motor is identified by the identifier 153 based on the detected identification resistance value with reference to the table.

Fig. 6 illustrates a table for identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200, the table is a lookup table (L UT) that associates the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors with the unique information of the plurality of brushless DC motors, the unique information of the brushless DC motors represents identification resistance values, the table is stored in the memory 120, for example, as described above, the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors exist for each supplier, for example, three types of suppliers A, B and C exist.

For example, the discriminator 153 may have an AD converter (not shown). The discriminator 153 converts the identification resistance value (analog value) detected by the resistance value detector 152 into a digital signal. The information unique to the brushless DC motor can also be represented by a digital value having the same bit width as the resolution of the AD conversion. The AD converter may be mounted on the resistance value detector 152 at the preceding stage.

When the identification of the type of the brushless DC motor by the identification device 100 is completed, the stopped state of the inverter 230 is released. Then, for example, the motor power supply voltage Vmot is supplied from the DC power supply 151 to the brushless DC motor 200. By supplying the PWM signal from the motor drive IC220 to the inverter 230, the inverter 230 starts driving the motor at a normal time.

According to the identification method of the present embodiment, the type of brushless DC motor 200 can be identified while inverter 230 is stopped. Since the type of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified separately from the normal motor driving, the load on the identification device 100 side can be reduced. Further, handshake-based communication between the identification device 100 and the brushless DC motor 200, which is conventionally required, is not necessary. In addition, the existing power supply terminal can be used, and a dedicated terminal for identification need not be newly provided. By reducing the number of parts, the product cost can be reduced. The identification is particularly advantageous in identifying the type of the two-wire motor because the input and output terminals such as the PWM terminal and the TACH terminal are not particularly required.

The identification method of the present disclosure is not limited to the product manufacturing time, and is also preferably used, for example, when a failed brushless DC motor is replaced with a new brushless DC motor. It is possible to confirm whether or not the brushless DC motor after replacement is suitable for the system. In addition, for example, each product mounted with the brushless DC motor is connected to the internet. So-called IoT (Internet of Things) is implemented. For example, a vendor of each product on which the brushless DC motor is mounted can identify a product on which the specified brushless DC motor is mounted by analyzing big data including information unique to the brushless DC motor. This stabilizes the quality of the product, for example, preventing the occurrence of a failure.

Fig. 7 shows another specific example of a flowchart of the identification method for identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200.

As shown in fig. 7, the recognition method according to the present embodiment may further include step S400 of notifying a result of recognizing the type of brushless DC motor 200.

As an example of a notification method, the light emitting elements 130 (for example, a plurality of L EDs) shown in fig. 4 can be used to notify the result of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200, the controller 110 of the identification device 100 causes L ED assigned to the brushless DC motor 200 as the identification target to emit light from among a plurality of L EDs allocated according to the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors based on the result of identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200, and the light emitting elements are not limited to L ED, and may be elements that perform notification using light.

For example, the controller 110 of the recognition device 100 may be assigned a red L ED for the a supplier, a blue L ED for the B supplier, and a green L ED. for the C supplier, and may cause the green L ED to emit light when recognizing the brushless DC motor of the C supplier.

As another example, the result of identifying the type of brushless DC motor 200 can be notified using a display device (e.g., a liquid crystal display) or a speaker. For example, the recognition result may be displayed as text information on a liquid crystal display. For example, the speaker can be sounded with the sound level changed according to the type of the plurality of brushless DC motors.

As another example, the controller 110 of the recognition apparatus 100 may temporarily write the recognition result in the memory 120, or may transmit the recognition result to another apparatus or device that requires the recognition result. These methods are also examples of notifying the recognition result.

In addition to the type information of the brushless DC motor, various information related to the brushless DC motor, such as a serial number, a lot number, input power, input current, input voltage, motor temperature, rated current, rated voltage, and the like of the brushless DC motor, may be associated with the identification resistance value. By providing such an identification resistance element associated with information on the brushless DC motor side, the identification device 100 can acquire various information on the brushless DC motor.

Fig. 8 schematically shows a modification of the block structure of the brushless DC motor 200 and the consumer system 100 of the present embodiment.

In the modified structure, the identifying resistance unit 250 has an identifying resistance element 251 and a switching element 252, and the switching element 252 is connected between one end of the identifying resistance element 251 and the GND line. However, the switching element 252 may be connected between the other end of the identifying resistor 251 and the power supply line. As the switching element 252, for example, a semiconductor switching element of a bipolar or unipolar transistor can be used.

For example, the motor drive IC220 may control the switching element 252 to be turned on and off at predetermined time intervals. The predetermined time interval is, for example, 1 ms.

Fig. 9 shows a more detailed flowchart of step S200 for reading out the identification resistance value in the processing flow of the identification method of identifying the kind of brushless DC motor 200 of the present modification.

(step S220A)

Similarly to step S210A, the generation of the PWM signal is stopped using the timer function of the MCU 221 of the motor drive IC220 until a predetermined time (for example, 0.1S) elapses from the start of turning on the identification power supply voltage.

(step S220B)

In a state where the driving of the inverter 230 is stopped, the switching element 252 is turned on and off by the motor drive IC 220. For example, the motor drive IC220 turns the switching element 252 on and off every 1 ms. When the switching element 252 is turned on, the resistance value of the identification resistance element 251 is set to the identification resistance value, and when the switching element 252 is turned off, the high impedance value is set to the identification resistance value. The identification resistance element 251 has a resistance value of, for example, 20k Ω.

In one aspect, for example, a state in which 20k Ω is set as the identification resistance value may be assigned to the communication state H indicating the digital information "1" at a high level, and a state in which a high impedance value is set as the identification resistance value may be assigned to the communication state L indicating the digital information "0" at a low level, and for example, character string information composed of various code words such as ASCII code and binary code may be transmitted to the identification device 100 by turning on and off the switching element 252 every 1ms by the motor drive IC 220.

For example, by turning on and off the switching element 252 in the order of "off, on, off", character string information of ASCII code "01011010" of the capital letter "Z" can be transmitted. The character string information includes information of a plurality of resistance values including 20k Ω and a high impedance value. More specifically, the character string information includes digital information "1" corresponding to a recognition resistance value of 20k Ω and digital information "0" corresponding to a high impedance value. The string information is transmitted at a prescribed bit rate. The predetermined time interval may be determined according to a predetermined bit rate.

(step S230B)

The character string information output from the brushless DC motor 200 is sequentially acquired using the resistance value detector 152 of the recognition device 100. When receiving the character string information of the ASCII code "01011010" of the capital letter "Z", the resistance value detector 152 detects the identification resistance value in the order of "high impedance value, 20k Ω, high impedance value, 20k Ω, and high impedance value".

For example, supplier a may be assigned an ASCII code "01000001" of capital letter "a", supplier B may be assigned an ASCII code "01000010" of capital letter "B", and supplier C may be assigned an ASCII code "01000011" of capital letter "C". The resistance value detector 152 identifies the type of the motor by referring to a table based on the plurality of resistance value groups, which are the acquired character string information.

Fig. 10 illustrates a table for identifying the kind of the brushless DC motor using ASCII code as inherent information. The table associates a plurality of ASCII codes with a plurality of brushless DC motor types. In this example, the ASCII code is unique to the brushless DC motor.

For example, after the brushless DC motor of the supplier a is powered on, the ASCII code "01000001" is output from the brushless DC motor. The recognition device 100 can acquire the ASCII code "01000001" information and refer to the look-up table to specify that the motor to be recognized is the brushless DC motor of the vendor a.

There are other various modifications of the recognition resistance unit 250 of the brushless DC motor 200.

The identification resistance element 251 may have a plurality of resistance elements connected in series or parallel with each other. The identification resistance unit 250 may further have at least one switching element connected to the plurality of resistance elements. A resistance value group including at least one of the resistance values of the plurality of resistance elements and a combined resistance value that can be set by the respective resistance values is acquired, and information relating to the brushless DC motor 200 is identified from the resistance value group by the resistance value detector 152. In other words, the information on the brushless DC motor 200 is recognized by the resistance value detector 152 based on a change in the resistance value accompanying the switching element being turned on and off.

Fig. 11A to 11C show circuit configurations for identifying a deformation of the resistance unit 250. Fig. 12A shows a more detailed flowchart of step S200 for reading out the identification resistance value in the process flow of the identification method of identifying the kind of the brushless DC motor 200 having the identification resistance unit 250 shown in fig. 11A or 11B. Fig. 12B shows a more detailed flowchart of step S200 for reading out the identification resistance value in the process flow of the identification method of identifying the kind of the brushless DC motor 200 having the identification resistance unit 250 shown in fig. 11C.

As shown in fig. 11A, in one aspect, the identifying resistor unit 250 includes resistor elements 251A, 251B, and 251C connected in parallel. The switching element 252A is connected in series to the resistance element 251A, the switching element 252B is connected in series to the resistance element 251B, and the switching element 252C is connected in series to the resistance element 251C.

As shown in fig. 12A, in step S200, until a predetermined time (for example, 0.1S) elapses from the start of turning on the identification power supply voltage, the generation of the PWM signal is stopped using the timer function of the MCU 221 of the motor drive IC220 (step S230A).

In a state where driving of the inverter 230 is stopped, the switching elements 252A, 252B, and 252C connected to the resistance elements 251A, 251B, and 251C are sequentially turned on (step S230B). The resistance element 251A has a resistance value r1, the resistance element 251B has a resistance value r2, and the resistance element 251C has a resistance value r 3. For example, the resistance value r1 is 20k Ω, the resistance value r2 is 30k Ω, and the resistance value r3 is 40k Ω.

The resistance values r1, r2, and r3 are sequentially obtained as the identification resistance values by the resistance value detector 152 of the identification device 100 (step S230C). The resistance value detector 152 can identify the kind of the brushless DC motor according to a combination of the three resistance values r1, r2, and r 3. Thus, the number of recognizable categories can be increased by adding the recognition resistance element.

As shown in fig. 11B, in one aspect, the identifying resistor unit 250 includes a plurality of resistor elements 251A, 251B, and 251C connected in series with one another. The switching element 252A is connected in series to the resistance element 251A, and the switching element 252B is connected in series to the resistance element 251B. One ends of the switching element 252A and the switching element 252B are connected to each other.

For example, in a state where all of the switching elements 252A, 252B, and 252C are turned off, the combined resistance (r1+ r2+ r3) of the resistance values r1, r2, and r3 is read by the resistance value detector 152. Next, in a state where the switching element 252B is turned on and the switching element 252A is turned off, the resistance detector 152 reads out a combined resistance (r1+ r2) of the resistance values r1 and r 2. Finally, in a state where the switching element 252A is turned on and the switching element 252B is turned off, the resistance value r1 is read by the resistance value detector 152. The kind of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified from the combination of the three resistance values read out.

As shown in fig. 11C, in one mode, the identifying resistance unit 250 has a variable resistance 253. For example, the motor drive IC220 can perform control for switching the resistance value of the variable resistor 253. As shown in fig. 12B, in a state where driving of inverter 230 is stopped, the resistance values of the variable resistors are sequentially switched by motor drive IC220, and a plurality of resistance values (resistance value groups of the variable resistors) set by switching the resistance values of the variable resistors are set in brushless DC motor 200 (steps S240A, S240B). The resistance value detectors 152 sequentially read the resistance values, and thereby the type of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified from the combination of the resistance values (step S240C).

(embodiment mode 2)

The brushless DC motor 200 of the present embodiment is different from the brushless DC motor 200 of embodiment 1 in that the switching circuit 270 is provided as a means for stopping the inverter 230. Hereinafter, differences from embodiment 1 will be mainly described.

Fig. 13 schematically shows a typical block configuration example of the consumer system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 according to the present embodiment.

The brushless DC motor 200 further has a switching circuit 270, the switching circuit 270 having a switching element 271 and a low voltage protection circuit (UV L O)272 the switching circuit 270 switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line to the regulator 210 or connection and disconnection of the power supply line to the inverter 230.

As the switching element 271, for example, a semiconductor switching element such as a unipolar transistor (MOSFET, JFET) or a bipolar transistor can be used. As the switching element 271, for example, an optocoupler, a thyristor, a mechanical relay, or the like can be used.

Fig. 14 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the low-voltage protection circuit 272.

The low voltage protection circuit 272 has, for example, a comparator AMP, a switching element SW, and a plurality of resistance elements R1, R2, R3, R4. The low voltage protection circuit 272 is connected to a power supply line. The low-voltage protection circuit 272 cuts off the inverter 230 from the power supply line when the level of the input voltage Vin supplied via the power supply line is equal to or lower than a threshold value. As a result, the input voltage is not supplied to the inverter 230. The threshold is set to be lower than a lower limit value of a range of the operating power supply voltage (for example, 7V to 13.8V) used for driving the motor at a normal time. The threshold value may be set to, for example, about 5.0V.

The low voltage protection circuit 272 compares the input voltage with the reference voltage Vref. The reference voltage Vref corresponds to the threshold value described above. For example, when a P-type semiconductor switching element is used as the switching element 271, the low-voltage protection circuit 272 outputs a high-level voltage when the input voltage is equal to or lower than the reference voltage Vref, thereby turning off the switch. On the other hand, in the case where the input voltage is greater than the reference voltage Vref, the low voltage protection circuit 272 outputs a voltage of a low level, thereby turning on the switching element 271.

In this example, a P-type semiconductor switching element is illustrated as the switching element 271, but an N-type semiconductor switching element, a PNP transistor, an NPN transistor, or the like may be used depending on the circuit configuration.

Fig. 15 shows a flowchart of the identification method for identifying the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to the present embodiment.

(step S100)

In the supply of the discrimination power supply voltage, the input voltage of the level equal to or lower than the threshold value, that is, the low level different from that in the normal driving is supplied via the power supply line. The identification power supply voltage is supplied from, for example, a resistance value detector 152 (see fig. 3) of the identification device 100. However, as described above, the identification power supply voltage may be supplied from the DC power supply 151 (see fig. 3).

(step S250A)

By supplying the identification power supply voltage of the low level, the inverter 230 is cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit 270. Thereby, the power supply to inverter 230 is cut off, and inverter 230 is in a stopped state. The regulator 210 is also cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit 270, and therefore does not generate the power supply voltage Vcc of the motor drive IC. Therefore, the motor drive IC220 also stops.

(step S250B)

In a state where driving of inverter 230 is stopped, an identification current including information indicating an identification resistance value of identification resistance element 251 flows through the power supply terminal of brushless DC motor 200. In the same manner as step S210B described in embodiment 1, in the state where inverter 230 is stopped, identification resistance value is read as unique information of brushless DC motor 200 using identification device 100. When the low-level identification power supply voltage is turned on for the brushless DC motor 200, no motor current flows in the inverter 230, but an identification current flows in the identification resistance element 251 depending on the identification resistance value.

The type of the brushless DC motor 200 is identified by the identifier 153 based on the detected identification resistance value, for example, referring to the table illustrated in fig. 6 (step S300).

According to the identification method of the present embodiment, unlike the conventional handshake, the type of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified by reading the identification resistance value without starting the motor drive IC220 (mainly the MCU 221) and in a state where the inverter 230 is stopped.

(embodiment mode 3)

Fig. 16 schematically shows a typical block configuration example of the user system 100, the recognition device 100A, and the brushless DC motor 200.

Unlike embodiment 1 or 2, the identification device 100A of the present embodiment is a device independent of the user system 100. The recognition device 100A includes, for example, an MCU 110A and a light emitting element 130, and the MCU 110A is mounted with a DC power supply 151, a resistance value detector 152, and a discriminator 153. In fig. 16, the DC power supply 151, the resistance value detector 152, and the discriminator 153 are not shown so as not to be complicated. The identification device 100A has a Vmot terminal and a GND terminal as terminals necessary for identifying the kind of the brushless DC motor 200.

The user system 100, the identification apparatus 100A, and the brushless DC motor 200 are electrically connected to each other between the Vmot terminal and the GND terminal. The identification power supply voltage can be supplied from the identification device 100A to the brushless DC motor 200 via the Vmot terminal.

When the power supply is turned on, an identification current containing information identifying the resistance value flows in the power supply line. The identification device 100A can identify the type of the brushless DC motor 200 according to the processing flow shown in fig. 5 or fig. 15, for example. The MCU 110A may transmit the recognition result to the controller 110 of the user system 100.

Fig. 17 schematically shows another block configuration example of the user system 100, the recognition device 100A, and the brushless DC motor 200.

The identification device 100A is electrically connected to the user system 100 and the brushless DC motor 200 via a Test Point (TP), for example. TP1 is TP for power supply identification. TP2 is a GND TP. The identification device 100A is connected to a dedicated probe, and the type of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified by bringing the probe into contact with TP.

An outline of one embodiment of the present disclosure is as follows.

The identification method of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is an identification method used in an identification device that identifies information relating to a brushless DC motor output from the brushless DC motor. The brushless DC motor 200 has, for example, as shown in fig. 13, at least one resistance element 250 connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter 230 that drives the motor, and a switching circuit 270 that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line and the inverter. As described with reference to fig. 15, the recognition method includes the following steps: the identification power supply voltage is supplied from the identification device 100 to the brushless DC motor 200 via the power supply line, the inverter 230 is disconnected from the power supply line by the switching circuit 270, the identification resistance value of the at least one resistance element 251 is read in a state where the driving of the inverter 230 is stopped, and the information on the brushless DC motor 200 is identified based on the read identification resistance value of the at least one resistance element 251. The information related to the brushless DC motor 200 is, for example, identification information of the brushless DC motor 200, a serial number of the brushless DC motor 200, a lot number, input power, input current, input voltage, motor temperature, rated current, rated voltage, or the like.

According to such a recognition method, the recognition resistance value can be read without particularly operating the MCU 221 of the brushless DC motor 200 in a state where the inverter 230 of the brushless DC motor 200 is stopped. Thereby, a brushless DC motor identification method capable of identifying information related to the brushless DC motor without handshaking is provided.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, the switching circuit 270 includes a low-voltage protection circuit 272, and the low-voltage protection circuit 272 disconnects the inverter 230 from the power supply line when the level of the input voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value. In the supply of the input voltage, the input voltage of a level equal to or lower than a threshold value is supplied via a power supply line. The threshold may be, for example, 5.0V.

According to such a recognition method, the driving of the inverter 230 can be reliably stopped using the low-voltage protection circuit 272.

In one embodiment, the threshold value is set to be lower than the lower limit value of the range of the operating power supply voltage used for driving the motor at normal times. The operating supply voltage ranges, for example, from 7.0V to 13.8V.

According to such a recognition method, the low-voltage protection circuit 272 can cut off the inverter 230 from the power supply line when the input voltage is equal to or lower than the lower limit of the range of the operating power supply voltage.

In one embodiment, the information related to the brushless DC motor 200 indicates the type of the brushless DC motor 200. For example, as described with reference to fig. 5, the intrinsic resistances different for each of the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors are assigned to at least one of the resistance elements 251, the value of the intrinsic resistance is read by the resistance value detector 152 as the intrinsic information of the brushless DC motor 200 in the reading of the resistance value, and the type of the brushless DC motor 200 is identified based on the read value of the intrinsic resistance in the identification of the information related to the brushless DC motor 200.

According to such an identification method, the kind of the brushless DC motor 200 can be identified without handshaking.

In one embodiment, in the identification of the type of brushless DC motor 200, the type of brushless DC motor 200 is identified from the read value of the specific resistance by referring to a lookup table in which the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors and the specific information of the plurality of brushless DC motors are associated with each other. The look-up table is illustrated, for example, in fig. 6.

According to such a recognition method, the types of the plurality of brushless DC motors and the unique information of the plurality of brushless DC motors can be associated with each other using the lookup table.

In one embodiment, the identification method further includes: the recognition device 100 is used to notify the result of recognizing the type of the brushless DC motor 200.

According to such a recognition method, for example, as described above, the controller 110 of the recognition apparatus 100 may temporarily write the recognition result in the memory 120, or may transmit it to another apparatus or device that requires the recognition result. Further, the result of identifying the type of brushless DC motor 200 can be notified using a display device (e.g., a liquid crystal display) or a speaker.

In one embodiment, the identification method further includes causing a light emitting element assigned to the brushless DC motor 200 to emit light from among a plurality of light emitting elements 130, for example, a plurality of L EDs, assigned according to the type of the brushless DC motor, based on the identification result of the type of the brushless DC motor.

According to such a recognition method, for example, the controller 110 of the recognition device 100 can assign red L ED for the supplier a, blue L ED for the supplier B, and green L ED. for the supplier C to emit green L ED when recognizing the brushless DC motor of the supplier C.

In one embodiment, the brushless DC motor 200 is, for example, a DC fan having an impeller.

According to such a recognition method, for example, the type of the brushless DC motor 200 such as an axial fan, a centrifugal fan, a cross flow fan, or a sirocco fan can be recognized.

The recognition device 100 of the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure is a recognition device that recognizes information related to a brushless DC motor. As explained with reference to fig. 13, the brushless DC motor 200 has at least one resistance element 251 connected between a power supply line and a GND line, an inverter 230 that drives the motor, and a switching circuit 270 that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line and the inverter 230. The recognition device 100 includes: a power supply terminal Vmot for supplying an input voltage to the brushless DC motor 200 via a power supply line; and a controller 110 recognizing information related to the brushless DC motor 200. As described with reference to fig. 15, controller 110 reads the identification resistance value of at least one resistance element 251 in a state where an input voltage is supplied to brushless DC motor 200 and inverter 230 is disconnected from the power supply line by switching circuit 270 to stop driving of inverter 230, and identifies information related to brushless DC motor 200 from the read identification resistance value of at least one resistance element 251.

According to such a recognition device, in a state where the inverter 230 of the brushless DC motor 200 is stopped, the recognition resistance value can be read without particularly operating the MCU 221 of the brushless DC motor 200. Thus, the identification device of the brushless DC motor capable of identifying information related to the brushless DC motor without handshaking is provided.

As described with reference to fig. 13, the brushless DC motor 200 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a circuit board CB; a power supply terminal Vmot disposed on the circuit board CB for supplying an input voltage from the outside; an inverter 230 that drives the motor; at least one resistance element 251 connected between GND and a power supply line connected to the power supply terminal Vmot, and having a resistance value larger than the direct current resistance of the motor; and a switching circuit 270 that switches connection and disconnection of the power supply line and the inverter 230, and that has a low-voltage protection circuit 272 that cuts off the inverter 230 from the power supply line when the level of the input voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value. In a state where an input voltage of a level equal to or lower than a threshold value is supplied via the power supply terminal Vmot and the inverter 230 is cut off from the power supply line by the switching circuit 270 to stop driving of the inverter 230, a current including information indicating the identification resistance value of at least one resistance element 251 flows through the power supply terminal Vmot. The threshold may be, for example, 5.0V.

According to such a brushless DC motor, there is provided the brushless DC motor 200 capable of transmitting the identification resistance value to the identification device 100 in a state where the inverter 230 of the brushless DC motor 200 is stopped.

In one embodiment, the threshold value is lower than a lower limit value of a range of the operating power supply voltage used for driving the motor in a normal state. The operating supply voltage ranges, for example, from 7.0V to 13.8V.

According to such a brushless DC motor, the inverter 230 can be disconnected from the power supply line by the low-voltage protection circuit 272.

In one embodiment, the identifying resistor 251 has a resistance value 10 times or more the dc resistance of the motor.

According to such a brushless DC motor, power loss due to the identification resistor 251 can be suppressed during normal motor driving.

Industrial applicability

Embodiments of the present disclosure are widely used in various apparatuses having various fan motors, such as personal computers, game machines, dust collectors, dryers, washing machines, and refrigerators.

Description of the reference symbols

100: a user system (identification means); 100A: an identification device; 110: a controller; 120: a memory; 130: a light emitting element; 151: a DC power supply; 152: a resistance value detector; 153: a discriminator; 200: a brushless DC motor; 210: a regulator; 220: a motor drive IC; 230: an inverter; 240: a coil; 250: identifying a resistance unit; 251. 251A, 251B, 251C: identifying a resistive element; 252. 252A, 252B, 252C: a switching element; 260: a Hall element.