Granted Patent B2

US 12,215,701 · App. 15/266,729 · Granted Feb 4, 2025

Inventors: Greg Heins (Rowville, AU); Lyell Douglas Embery (Rowville, AU); Matthew J. Turner (Rowville, AU); Rafal Pawel Rohoza (Rowville, AU); Bin Chen (Jiangsu, CN); Hani Chahine (Rowville, AU); Mark Thiele (Rowville, AU)

Assignee: Rexnord Australia Pty LTD

F04D19/005F04D27/008F05D2270/335

Abstract

Claims (50)

1. A motor controller configured to be coupled to a motor that is coupled to a backward-curved fan, said motor controller comprising a processor coupled to a memory, said motor controller is configured to:

operate the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan at a first speed in a forward direction that causes a fluid to move from an inlet of a fluid flow path to an outlet of the fluid flow path, wherein the backward-curved fan is curved backward with respect to a direction of movement of the fluid through the fluid flow path, and wherein restriction of the fluid flow path does not increase a torque associated with the motor while operating in the forward direction;

store a schedule for a restriction detection mode in said memory, the schedule defining times when the motor is to be operated in the restriction detection mode;

operate, in accordance with the schedule, the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan in a reverse direction that is opposite the forward direction, wherein restriction of the fluid flow path increases the torque associated with the motor while operating in the reverse direction;

determine the torque associated with the motor while the motor is rotating the backward-curved fan only in the reverse direction during the restriction detection mode;

determine that the torque is not within a predefined threshold range stored in said memory, the predefined threshold range indicating an expected range of torque for resulting from the backward-curved fan to operate operating in the reverse direction when no restriction is present in the fluid flow path; and determine that a restriction exists in the fluid flow path in response to determining that the torque is not within the predefined threshold range.

2. The motor controller of claim 1 , further configured to operate the motor at the first speed in the restriction detection mode.

3. The motor controller of claim 1 , wherein said motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said motor controller is further configured to transmit, to the user interface component, an indication that a restriction in the fluid flow path has been detected.

4. The motor controller of claim 1 , wherein said motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said motor controller is further configured to:

receive a signal from the user interface component to activate the restriction detection mode; and

operate the motor in the restriction detection mode in response to receiving the signal.

5. The motor controller of claim 1 , further configured to operate the motor in the restriction detection mode during an initialization phase of the motor controller.

6. The motor controller of claim 1 , wherein said motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said motor controller is further configured to:

receive a signal from the user interface component to deactivate the motor;

operate the motor in the restriction detection mode in response to receiving the signal from the user interface component; and

deactivate the motor after operating the motor in the restriction detection mode.

7. The motor controller of claim 1 , further configured to determine the torque by:

sensing a current that is used by the motor to operate the backward-curved fan in the reverse direction at the first speed; and

multiply the current by a predefined conversion factor.

8. A method for determining a condition of a fluid flow path, said method is implemented by a motor controller that is configured to be coupled to a motor that is coupled to a backward-curved fan, the motor controller includes a processor coupled to a memory, said method comprising:

operating, by the motor controller, the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan at a first speed in a forward direction that causes a fluid to move from an inlet of a fluid flow path to an outlet of the fluid flow path, wherein the backward-curved fan is curved backward with respect to a direction of movement of the fluid through the fluid flow path, and wherein restriction of the fluid flow path does not increase a torque associated with the motor while operating in the forward direction;

storing, by the motor controller, a schedule for a restriction detection mode in the memory, the schedule defining times when the motor is to be operated in the restriction detection mode;

operating, by the motor controller, in accordance with the schedule, the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan in a reverse direction that is opposite the forward directions wherein restriction of the fluid flow path increases the torque associated with the motor while operating in the reverse direction;

determining, by the motor controller, the torque associated with the motor while the motor is rotating the backward-curved fan only in the reverse direction during the restriction detection mode;

determining, by the motor controller, that the torque is not within a predefined threshold range stored in the memory, the predefined threshold range indicating an expected range of torque for resulting from the backward-curved fan to operate operating in the reverse direction when no restriction or an acceptable restriction is present in the fluid flow path; and determining, by the motor controller, that a an unacceptable restriction exists in a fluid flow path in response to determining that the torque is not within the predefined threshold range.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising operating the motor at the first speed in the restriction detection mode.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said method further comprising transmitting, to the user interface component, an indication that a restriction in the fluid flow path has been detected.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said method further comprising:

receiving a signal from the user interface component to activate the restriction detection mode; and

operating the motor in the restriction detection mode in response to receiving the signal.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising operating the motor in the restriction detection mode during an initialization phase of the motor controller.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said method further comprising:

receiving a signal from the user interface component to deactivate the motor;

operating the motor in the restriction detection mode in response to receiving the signal from the user interface component; and

deactivating the motor after operating the motor in the restriction detection mode.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising determining the torque by:

sensing a current that is used by the motor to operate the backward-curved fan in the reverse direction at the first speed; and

multiply the current by a predefined conversion factor.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having processor-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when executed by a motor controller that is configured to be coupled to a motor and is coupled to a backward-curved fan, wherein the motor controller includes a processor coupled to a memory, said instructions cause the motor controller to:

operate the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan at a first speed in a forward direction that causes a fluid to move from an inlet of a fluid flow path to an outlet of the fluid flow path,

wherein the backward-curved fan is curved backward with respect to a direction of movement of the fluid through the fluid flow path, and wherein restriction of the fluid flow path does not increase a torque associated with the motor while operating in the forward direction;

store a schedule for a restriction detection mode in the memory, the schedule defining times when the motor is to be operated in the restriction detection mode;

operate, in accordance with the schedule, the motor to rotate the backward-curved fan at a second speed in a reverse direction opposite the forward direction, wherein restriction of the fluid flow path increases the torque associated with the motor while operating in the reverse direction;

determine the torque associated with the motor while the motor is rotating the backward-curved fan at the second speed only in the reverse direction during the restriction detection mode;

determine that the torque is not within a predefined threshold range stored in the memory, the predefined threshold range indicating an expected range of torque for resulting from the backward-curved fan to operate operating in the reverse direction when no restriction is present in the fluid flow path; and

determine that a restriction exists in the fluid flow path in response to determining that the torque is not within the predefined threshold range.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, said instructions additionally cause the motor controller to transmit, to the user interface component, an indication that a restriction in the fluid flow path has been detected.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the motor controller is coupled to a user interface component, and said instructions additionally cause the motor controller to:

receive a signal from the user interface component to activate the restriction detection mode; and

operate the motor in the restriction detection mode in response to receiving the signal.

Assignments (4)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (26)