US 12,113,472 B2
Method and system for determining crankshaft position in an electrical generating system
Matthew Mcroberts, Waterloo (CA); and Joseph Kinsella, Waterloo (CA)
Assigned to PEGASUS AERONAUTICS CORPORATION, Waterloo (CA)
Appl. No. 17/616,167
Filed by PEGASUS AERONAUTICS CORPORATION, Waterloo (CA)
PCT Filed Jun. 3, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IB2020/055230
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 2, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/245737, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 10, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/856,344, filed on Jun. 3, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0247332 A1, Aug. 4, 2022
Int. Cl. H02P 9/02 (2006.01); H02K 7/18 (2006.01)
CPC H02P 9/02 (2013.01) [H02K 7/1815 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrical generating system comprising:
a power bus;
an active rectifier connected to the power bus;
a prime mover having a rotating member and being operable to generate mechanical energy from combustion of a fuel;
an electric machine connected to the power bus via the active rectifier and having a rotor connected to the prime mover, the electric machine operable to convert mechanical energy from the prime mover into electrical energy supplied to the active rectifier and to receive electrical power from the active rectifier to produce mechanical energy;
an engine control unit operable to control the prime mover; and
a sensorless AC motor control system controlling the active rectifier and determining the angular position of the rotor and deriving the angular position of the rotating member therefrom and providing the determined position to the engine control unit to use to operate the prime mover;
wherein, for each rotation of the rotating member the rotor of the electric machine completes at least two electrical rotations and wherein the engine control unit relates each rotation of the rotating member to one of the at least two electrical rotations; and
wherein the electric machine rotates the prime mover through at least one complete operating cycle and the sensorless AC motor control system operates to detect a predefined angular position of the rotating member, the engine control unit responsive to the detected predefined rotational position to relate the detected predefined angular position to one of the at least two electrical rotations.