Did You Know...
...that the video game, Pong, was invented by a guy who graduated at the bottom of his engineering class? Nolan Bushnell spent more time running the games at a local amusement park than he did on his studies at the University of Utah. His dreams of working for Disney's amusement empire were dashed when the company wouldn't hire him. Taking a boring job, Nolan daydreamed about electronic versions of popular games. He invented Pong, the first video game, and went on to found Atari Co.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7999502 | Pumping system The present invention provides a pumping system (60) comprising: a pumping mechanism (64); a motor (51) for driving the pumping mechanism; a drive control (50) for controlling the motor; and means (52) for monitoring at least one s... | 08/16/2011 |
| 7456601 | System and method for starting a wound rotor motor A system and method for starting and regulating a wound rotor motor especially during the period between inactivity and a speed determined by the voltage ratings of the drive system. In a first embodiment, a starting resistor and a starting bypass contactor are conn... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7414377 | System and method for automatic current limit control A motor controller system comprises solid state switches for connection between an AC line and motor terminals for controlling application of AC power to the motor. A sensor senses AC line voltage. A control circuit controls operation of the solid state switches. Th... | 08/19/2008 |
| 7402976 | Apparatus and method for controlling operation of compressor An apparatus for controlling an operation of a compressor includes a controller for generating a control signal for selecting an operation mode of a compressor according to an operation load of the compressor; a first switching unit connected to a motor consisting o... | 07/22/2008 |
| 7391179 | Mutual Inductance Contactless Starter An inductive contactless starter can be provided for single-phase AC motor, which can be designed to start a compressor motor with a starting capacitor or a common single-phase AC motor. The starter can comprise a current mutual-inductor composed of two primary coil... | 06/24/2008 |
| 7385368 | Apparatus for controlling operation of reciprocating compressor An apparatus for controlling an operation of a reciprocating compressor includes a inductance increasing device connected to a motor of the reciprocating compressor, so that a surge current generated when power is applied to the reciprocating compressor at an initia... | 06/10/2008 |
| 7372686 | Power supply apparatus capable of detecting abnormality in current flowing in drive circuit A current detection unit samples motor current at every cycle corresponding to a cycle of the highest processing speed of a CPU. A current integral calculation unit integrates the value of the sampled motor current over a sampling period to calculate and output a cu... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7327110 | Drive circuit for braking a motor during a malfunction A drive system with an electric motor is described, which includes an integrated armature short-circuit brake and a mechanical brake. If the electric motor cannot be controllably slowed down, a control signal is applied at an activation time to the integrated armatu... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7321213 | Motor controller A motor controller is provided with: an estimated temperature calculating means that calculates an estimated temperature of a motor; and a control unit that can perform a driving control of the motor only when the estimated temperature is not larger than a predeterm... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7321214 | Motor control system A controller is operable in one of a plurality of operational modes, which include an estimated temperature computation performing mode for performing computing of an estimated temperature of the motor and an estimated temperature computation non-performing mode for... | 01/22/2008 |
| 7291995 | Air fan rotation speed control method and structure thereof An air fan rotation speed control method and a structure thereof aim to provide an automatic control mode and a manual control mode at the same time to control rotation speed regulation of an air fan to achieve instant heat dissipation for an environment and reduce ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7265515 | Starter for a line start electric motor The invention concerns a starter for a line start electric motor having at least one main winding (4) and at least one start winding (12) and which start winding is connected in series with a run capacitor (14) with which a start capacitor (1... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7265516 | Linear electric motor controller and system for providing linear control The invention relates to a method of, and system for, linear speed control for an electric motor, in which a digital to analog converter means is used for converting an 8-bit digital signal to an analog voltage for setting voltage across a motor, a digital state mac... | 09/04/2007 |
| 7248009 | Motor temperature control using estimated motor temperature based on motor power dissipation A system and method of controlling motor temperature is based on computed motor power dissipation and a thermal model of the motor, rather than a measured motor temperature, in a control loop that limits the motor drive to prevent overheating. An ambient temperature... | 07/24/2007 |
| 7224147 | Buck/boost method of voltage regulation for a permanent magnet generator (PMG) A voltage regulation system maintains the output voltage of a permanent magnet generator at an essentially constant level. The stator coils located within the permanent magnet generator are divided into a number of sub-coils. A buck/boost voltage can be applied to s... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7222050 | Apparatus for determining overheating of motor, method for determining overheating of motor, computer-readable medium, motor control apparatus, motor control method, and printing apparatus A temperature condition of a motor is estimated more accurately based on a drive amount of the motor. An apparatus for determining overheating of a motor, includes: an information obtaining section that obtains information about a drive amount of a motor and informa... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7164248 | Electric motor drive apparatus and motor-driven power steering system In an electric motor drive apparatus capable of reliably preventing adverse effects on an electric motor, when a control force detected by a torque sensor exceeds a predetermined value, a temperature storing unit stores a temperature detected by a thermistor at that... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7157878 | Transient compensation voltage estimation for feedforward sinusoidal brushless motor control A method for controlling a voltage mode controlled electric machine comprising: receiving a torque value representative of a desired torque; obtaining a speed value indicative of a rotational velocity of the electric machine; acquiring a phase advance value indicati... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7145788 | Electrical power system for vehicles requiring electrical power while the vehicle engine is not in operation A system for supplying electrical power for use when the vehicle engine is shut down and configurations of long-haul trucks employing the system are disclosed. The power system is a battery bank contained within an insulated enclosure. The batteries are heated when ... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7109680 | Inverter device An object is to provide an inverter device capable of realizing exact protection of the winding of a motor. An inverter device for generating a pseudo alternating current by switching a direct current to drive a motor, comprises a controller that executes vector con... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7084599 | Induction motor controller A motor controller is capable of swiftly driving a motor at the initial stage and driving the motor with high efficiency and low power consumption after swiftly driving the motor at the initial stage by including a first capacitor connected in series with stator coi... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7084593 | Method and apparatus for thermal management of an electric power assist steering control system by compensating steering motor current An electric power assist steering control system having an electric motor actuator and a motor driver circuit for generating and applying a motor current to the electric motor actuator. A current sensor is included for measuring the motor current from the motor driv... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7081732 | Induction motor controller A motor controller is capable of swiftly driving a motor at the initial stage and driving the motor with high efficiency and low power consumption after swiftly driving the motor at the initial stage by including a first capacitor connected in series with a common t... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7071649 | Active temperature estimation for electric machines A method and system for estimating a temperature of an electric machine comprising obtaining a temperature value responsive to a temperature signal from a temperature sensor, the temperature sensor is operatively connected to and transmitting the temperature signal ... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7038570 | Protector for thermal switch installed in electromagnetic coils A protective device fitted to an electromagnetic coil to prevent damage to a thermal protective switch installed in the electromagnetic coil beneath the winding. In a preferred embodiment there is a subsequent encapsulation process following manufacture of the coil.... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7005827 | Starting circuit for single-phase induction motor A starting circuit for a single-phase induction motor includes a motor starting positive characteristic thermistor and a triac arranged in a series connection, and a triac control positive characteristic thermistor connected in parallel with the motor starting posit... | 02/28/2006 |
| 6987370 | Method and system for cooling electronic components A localized system for dissipating heat generated by an electronic component includes a controllable cooling element and a control system for controlling the cooling element. The control system adjusts a speed of operation of the cooling element in response to varia... | 01/17/2006 |
| 6936992 | Synchronization of machine and load characteristics An electrical machine is coupled to a load which has a torque profile which varies with angle. The machine is coupled so that the torque ripple of the machine is synchronized with the torque ripple of the load in such a manner as to provide an efficient drive system... | 08/30/2005 |
| 6933697 | Parabolic control of the duty cycle of a pulse width modulated signal A system may include control logic and a PWM generator configured to generate a PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) signal. The PWM generator is configured to generate the duty cycle of the PWM signal dependent on a duty cycle value generated by the control logic. The contr... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6930464 | Driving circuit for improving starting of hybrid induction motor and method thereof A driving circuit for improving starting of a hybrid induction motor and its method includes a capacitor for operation electrically connected between a main coil and a auxiliary-coil, and a starting and current cutting-off means electrically connected with the capac... | 08/16/2005 |
| 6924613 | System and method for monitoring current and providing motor protection A motor controller system comprises solid state switches for connection between an AC line and motor terminals for controlling application of AC power to the motor. A user input elements selects a current imbalance parameter. Current sensors sense current in each wi... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6904342 | Control apparatus for energy storage device in motor vehicle A control apparatus for use in a vehicle for controlling an energy storage device adapted to discharge electric power that varies with a temperature is provided. The control apparatus includes a temperature sensor that measures a temperature associated with the ener... | 06/07/2005 |
| 6900607 | Combined feedforward and feedback parameter estimation for electric machines A method and system for estimating a parameter of an electric machine, including a controller and a switching device, the controller responsive to at least one of: a current sensor, and a temperature sensor. Where the controller executes a parameter estimation proce... | 05/31/2005 |
| 6873131 | Dual voltage electric motors An electric motor selectively connectable to receive one of a plurality of supply voltages, the plurality of supply voltages comprising a low supply voltage and a high supply voltage. The motor can comprise a stator having a first winding and a second winding, a sha... | 03/29/2005 |
| 6861820 | Control strategy for an electric motor using real time predictions of motor capability based on thermal modeling and measurements A system and method for controlling an electric motor using real time predictions of motor capability based on thermal modeling and measurements is provided. The invention includes controllers for receiving and processing system input signals, strategies for: determ... | 03/01/2005 |
| 6847187 | Detection of loss of cooling air to traction motors A thermal protection apparatus for an AC traction motor including a stator, a rotor, a blower fan and an inverter includes a method and apparatus for predicting the motor temperature assuming that the blower is operational. The method and apparatus also determines a... | 01/25/2005 |
| 6794843 | Ventilator having a muting device A ventilator having a muting device includes a central processing unit, and a fan motor. The fan motor is connected to a start capacitor which is electrically connected to a temperature sensing circuit which is electrically connected to the central processing unit, ... | 09/21/2004 |
| 6788023 | Motor starter circuit, particularly for refrigerator compressors A starter circuit for motors, particularly for refrigerator compressors, comprising a starter device which is adapted to be connected to a starter winding and to a steady-state winding of an asynchronous motor, the windings being in turn connected to a power supply ... | 09/07/2004 |
| 6734649 | Dynamic tuning of current loop controller for a permanent magnet brushless motor A motor current controller for a permanent magnet AC motor achieves a decrease in bandwidth variations that would otherwise be caused by temperature changes. The current controller dynamically modifies the integral gain of a proportional-integral regulator in respon... | 05/11/2004 |
| 6690138 | Electric power steering system An electric power steering system is provided which assists a steering operation by applying a driving force generated by an electric motor to a steering mechanism of a motor vehicle. The system includes a sensor (e.g., a torque sensor) for acquiring info... | 02/10/2004 |
