Sensorless brushless direct current motor drive using pulse width modulation speed control at motor frequency

1. A variable speed brushless direct current (BLDC) motor drive circuit comprising:

a plurality of high-side and low-side controlled switches coupled in a three-phase bridge configuration for commutating a BLDC motor having a motor frequency of operation, each phase of the bridge being connected to a corresponding phase of the motor;

a controller for providing a drive signal to drive each of the high-side and low-side switches; and

a speed control loop for controlling the motor by PWM of a DC bus voltage to achieve a constant motor speed, the speed control loop including:

a pulse circuit receiving the drive signals provided from the controller for controlling the high-side switches and for providing a pulse signal that is related to a desired motor speed,

a plurality of high-side drivers for driving the high-side switches, each high-side switch being coupled to a respective high-side driver, and

a plurality of gating circuits each receiving the pulse signal from the pulse circuit and a drive signal for a respective high-side controller from the controller for generating a pulse width modulation (PWM) control signal at the motor frequency having a pulse duration determined by said pulse signal from said pulse circuit to thereby drive each of the high-side drivers to modulate their corresponding high-side switches.

2. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the switches are insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs).

3. The circuit of claim 2 , wherein the low-side IGBTs are N-Channel devices and the high-side IGBTs are P-Channel devices.

4. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the controller further provides initial rotor positioning and acceleration control for starting the motor.

5. The circuit of claim 4 , wherein the signals are provided in response to detection of zero crossings of a back electromotive force (EMF) corresponding to outputs of each of the bridge phases corresponding to a non-energized motor winding.

6. The circuit of claim 5 , wherein the controller further receives a plurality of signals from each phase of the three-phase bridge, the signals being used for the detection of zero crossings of the back EMF of a non-energized winding of the motor for providing commutation times.

7. The circuit of claim 6 , wherein before the motor generates back EMF, starting ramp-up dfreq/dt of the controller is selected by an external capacitor.

8. The circuit of claim 5 , wherein during a start-up period, when there is no generated back EMF, driver outputs are clocked by a frequency ramp-up until back EMF is established.

9. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the controller is an integrated circuit (IC).

10. The circuit of claim 9 , wherein the IC is a three phase, 15-Volt, BLDC motor drive IC.

11. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein operation of the pulse circuit is triggered by a leading edge of the signals from the controller to the high-side switches.

12. The circuit of claim 11 , wherein the pulse circuit outputs the pulse signal at three times the motor frequency.

13. The circuit of claim 12 , wherein a timing circuit of the pulse circuit is controlled by an external DC voltage and a timing capacitor.

14. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein at each commutation of the motor the PVTM signal adjusts the time that a switch conducts current.

15. The circuit of claim 14 , wherein the adjustment in the time of switch conduction adjusts a volt-seconds output which controls the motor speed.

16. The circuit of claim 14 , wherein the volt-seconds adjustment is performed in an open loop system where the motor speed is controlled from an analog control voltage source.

17. The circuit of claim 14 , wherein the volt-seconds adjustment is performed in a closed loop system where the motor speed is regulated against line and load variations.

18. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein conduction losses of the switches are minimized and overall efficiency of the motor is maximized.

19. The circuit of claim 1 , operating a refrigeration/air-conditioning compressor operating at a speed ratio of about 3:1 for a six step motor.

20. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pulse circuit is a dual monostable multivibrator.

21. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the gating circuit comprises two input NOR gates.

22. A method of controlling a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor in a variable speed BLDC motor drive circuit having a motor frequency of operation using pulse width modulation (PWM) of a DC bus voltage to achieve a constant motor speed, the method comprising the following steps:

detecting zero crossings of a back electromotive force (EMF) corresponding to outputs of each phase corresponding to a non-energized winding of the motor;

providing a control signal for each of a plurality of high-side and low-side switches coupled in a three-phase bridge configuration for commutating the motor, the low-side switches receiving the signal directly; and

for each high-side switch:

performing a gating operation on the signals and a pulse signal from a pulse circuit that receives the control signals to generate control PWM signals at the motor frequency for each high-side switch having a pulse duration determined by said pulse signal from said pulse circuit, and driving the high-side switch with the PWM signals,

wherein at each commutation of the motor the generated control PWM signals adjust the time that the high-side switches conduct a current.