Electrical generator or motor structure – Dynamoelectric – Rotary
Reexamination Certificate
1997-11-25
2001-05-22
Nguyen, Tran (Department: 2834)
Electrical generator or motor structure
Dynamoelectric
Rotary
C310S261100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06236134
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to alternators of the type that are used in vehicles to provide electrical power for running accessories and charging batteries. More particularly, this invention relates to a high-efficiency hybrid alternator in which the rotating magnetic field is provided by a rotor having permanent magnet poles and wound field poles operating in combination. The invention also relates to voltage regulators specially designed to automatically regulate the output voltage of hybrid alternators.
2. Description of Related Art
The automotive industry has been attempting to increase the efficiency of motorized vehicles, both at idle and at running speeds. The alternator design most commonly found in vehicles has been used for approximately twenty-five to thirty years and is inexpensive to produce, but exhibits very low efficiency levels, as low as 40-50%. The problem is particularly acute at low RPMs where high excitation levels in the rotor winding are required to produce the desired voltage, leading to very low efficiency.
In conjunction with the desire for higher efficiency is the need to supply alternators that have larger electrical ratings because modern vehicles have many more motors and require much more electrical power. Moreover, fuel efficiency of vehicles is closely related to the weight of the vehicle and it is desirable to decrease the weight of the alternator so as to minimize the total vehicle weight. These objectives are achieved when the efficiency of the alternator is increased.
The increased power usage in vehicles has also led to an interest in using components that operate at higher voltages than the standard 12 volts presently used in automobiles. At the same time, it is foreseen that 12 volt power will be required in such vehicles in addition to the higher voltage.
It is known to provide dual voltage alternators by providing two windings on the stator. However, when a single winding is used on the rotor, it is difficult to properly regulate the two different voltage outputs as different levels of rotor excitation current may be required for the different circuits. Single and dual voltage alternators of the type represented by the present invention may also be used in various non-engine driven applications, such as wind or water driven applications, for the efficient generation of electrical power.
Hybrid alternators significantly increase their efficiency by using permanent magnets to produce a high level of magnetic flux immediately, while the alternator is operating at low speed. Using the hybrid alternator disclosed herein, the alternator will produce full rated alternator current and voltage output at engine idling speed when installed in an automobile or other vehicle. This can be contrasted with prior art alternators that are incapable of producing their full rated output until they are turning at speeds far above their rotational speed at idle.
The full rated output of the hybrid alternator is achieved at low speed by supplementing the magnetic flux produced by the permanent magnets. The supplementing magnetic flux is produced by a rotor winding having a forward rotor winding current induced therein by a forward polarity voltage applied across the winding. This is referred to as the boosting mode or the forward polarity mode in which the wound field induced magnetic field is in the same direction as, and supplements, the permanent magnet induced magnetic field.
As the alternator RPM increases, however, the magnetic flux from the permanent magnets produces a greater output and the need for the supplementing flux from the rotor winding decreases. Ultimately, at a sufficiently high speed, all of the alternator's rated output is available solely from the permanent magnet induced magnetic field, and no additional current is needed in the rotor winding. Generally, this transition occurs at a speed well below the maximum anticipated operating speed of the alternator.
As the rotor speed exceeds this transition point, with the engine operating at a high speed, the flux from the permanent magnets is too great and must be reduced to avoid producing damaging overvoltages and overcurrents. This is accomplished by operating the hybrid alternator in the bucking mode or the reverse polarity mode in which a reverse polarity voltage is applied to the rotor winding. The reverse polarity voltage produces a reverse current in the rotor winding. The reverse current generates a magnetic flux which opposes the magnetic flux from the permanent magnets, thereby reducing the output of the alternator to maintain the desired output voltage.
The necessity for both forward and reverse rotor winding excitation current imposes certain limitations and requirements on the voltage regulator for the hybrid alternator which are not required in the case of conventional alternators. Although hybrid alternators of a low efficiency claw pole or Lundell type design are known, the existence of these limitations and requirements has not heretofore been recognized by the art even when producing voltage regulators for hybrid alternators.
A first problem is related to the inductive effects of switching the highly inductive rotor winding, particularly to transition between the forward and reverse polarity excitation modes. The problem is most acute when the alternator is lightly loaded and a battery is not connected to the alternator. In this condition, a net instantaneous negative current may be introduced onto the main power bus.
Current induced in the field winding stores significant energy in the magnetic field of the rotor winding, This energy can cause voltage spikes due to sudden load changes or when switching the voltage to drive the rotor winding. To reduce the output voltage of a hybrid alternator, the prior art has simply indicated that the reverse polarity mode should be applied to reduce or reverse the current in the field winding. However, before the current can be reversed, the previously induced magnetic field must collapse. During this collapse, the forward current originally induced in the forward polarity mode continues back up into the main power bus leading to the battery and all of the automobile accessories.
In implementing the prior art system of regulation, a bridge circuit has been used providing two state voltage pulse width modulation. This type of modulation results in negative current steps into the main power bus with the negative step amplitude equal to the magnitude of the field current. If the load current on the main power bus is less than the magnitude of the field current, a net negative current is applied to the bus. This current has no place to go because the alternator diodes prevent negative current flow into the alternator and result in a destructive voltage spike unless suppressed by the battery or a large bus capacitor.
If a battery is connected to the alternator as in the normal case, the battery can be relied upon to absorb any net negative current after the battery's other loads. Alternatively, a large capacitor can be used to absorb this energy. However, the first method cannot be relied upon as a battery may not always be present capable of absorbing the reverse current. Using a capacitor is extremely expensive, particularly when capacitors adequate for handling all the energy stored in the rotor winding are used that are temperature rated for use under the hood of an automobile.
If the battery were to be removed, without a capacitor there would be no place for the net reverse current on the main power bus to go unless a large filter capacitor is placed across the circuit where the battery connection normally exists. If moderate frequency pulse width modulation techniques are employed, this capacitor can be of reasonable value. However, for lowest costs and small physical size an aluminum electrolytic capacitor would be desirable. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors, however, are not normally designed to tolerate temperatures in excess in 105° C. and thus, they could not be easily h
DeLio & Peterson LLC
Ecoair Corp.
Nguyen Tran
LandOfFree
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