Method of applying brake to a hoist by electromagnetic means in a permanent magnet motor

1. A permanent magnet (PM) motor driven hoist with motor based electromagnetic braking comprising:

a direct current (DC) power source;

a PM motor having stator coils and a PM rotor operably coupled to a cable drum with a cable wrapped thereon; and

a controller operably connected to the direct current power source and the PM motor, wherein the controller is configured to control the PM motor employing a method to brake the PM motor comprising;

generating control signals in the controller based on a position of the PM motor,

applying a braking command signal to the PM motor to magnetically lock the PM rotor of the PM motor for a selected duration,

removing the braking command signals for a second selected duration, and

repeating the generating control signals, applying a braking command signal and removing the braking command signal until the PM motor has stopped.

2. The hoist of claim 1 , further including a gear train operably coupled to the PM motor and the cable drum.

3. The hoist of claim 1 , further including an electromechanical brake operably coupled to the controller and the cable drum.

4. The hoist of claim 3 , wherein the electromechanical brake is energized when the PM motor is not commanded to move by the controller.

5. The hoist of claim 3 wherein the electromechanical brake is energized when the PM motor is commanded to move by the controller.

6. The hoist of claim 3 , wherein the electromechanical brake is configured to arrest the motion of the cable drum and hold the cable drum in a fixed position under selected conditions.

7. The hoist of claim 1 , further including a plurality of Hall effect sensors configured to detect the position of a rotor of the PM motor.

8. The hoist of claim 1 , wherein the PM motor is at least one of a brushless direct current BLDC motor, a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor and a Reluctance motors.

9. The hoist of claim 1 , wherein the controller includes an inverter for generating command signals to the PM motor.

10. The hoist of claim 9 , wherein the inverter includes at least six switching devices arranged in three legs.

11. The hoist of claim 1 , wherein the braking command signals are pulse width modulated (PWM) based on an operational characteristic of the PM motor.

12. The hoist of claim 1 , wherein the braking command signals are configurable for a given hoist configuration.

13. A method of applying a brake in a hoist system with an permanent magnet (PM) motor operably connected to a cable drum with a cable wrapped thereon, a controller operably connected the PM motor and a direct current power source, the controller executing the method comprising:

generating control signals in the controller based on a position of the PM motor;

applying a braking command signals to the PM motor to magnetically lock the PM motor for a selected duration;

removing the braking command signals for a second selected duration; and

repeating the generating, applying and removing until the PM motor has stopped.

14. The method of claim 13 , further including energizing an electromechanical brake when the PM motor is not commanded to move by the controller, wherein the electromechanical brake is configured to arrest the motion of the cable drum and hold the cable drum in a fixed position under selected conditions.

15. The method of claim 13 , further including energizing an electromechanical brake when the PM motor is commanded to move by the controller, wherein the electromechanical brake is configured to arrest the motion of the cable drum and hold the cable drum in a fixed position under selected conditions.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the braking command signals are pulse width modulated (PWM) based on an operational characteristic of the PM motor.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the braking command signals are configurable for a given hoist configuration.