Electric motor pump control incorporating pump element position information

Abstract

A method and a system for controlling an electric motor of a pump to counter act pressure pulsations generated by at least one pump element and to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness generated by the pump. The positions of at least one pump element of the pump and a shaft of the electric motor are determined. A pump stroke position is determined from the position of the pump element relative to the position of the shaft of the electric motor. The power sent to the electric motor is controlled according to the pump stroke position.

1 . A method of controlling an electric motor of a pump to counter act pressure pulsations generated by at least one pump element and to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness generated by the pump, the method comprising:
 determining a position of at least one pump element of the pump;   determining a position of a shaft of the electric motor;   determining a pump stroke position from the position of the at least one pump element relative to the position of the shaft of the electric motor; and   controlling a power sent to the electric motor according to the pump stroke position.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising controlling the power sent to the electric motor by using a target control power. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising directly determining the position of the pump element and the position of the shaft of the electric motor. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising indirectly determining the position of the pump element and the position of the shaft of the electric motor. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 3 , further comprising directly determining the position of the pump element and the position of the shaft of the electric motor by using position sensors. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising selecting a target power profile from a table with various target power profiles stored in a memory of a controller. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , further comprising selecting the target control power from the target power profiles, where the target control power is a function of the position of the shaft position and the position of the pump element. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising determining the pump stroke position by executing a pump electric motor control (“PEMC”) module. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , further comprising executing the pump electric motor control (“PEMC”) module at a speed faster than an individual pump element cycle. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , further comprising selecting a target control power that is in phase with the position of the pump element. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein controlling the power sent to the electric motor includes a voltage control or a current control. 
     
     
         12 . A system for controlling an electric motor of a pump to reduce noise, vibration, and harshness generated by least one pump element of the pump, the system comprising:
 a controller;   a plurality of sensors connected to the controller, each of the sensors configured to transmit information to the controller; and   a network connecting the sensors to the controller;   wherein the controller is programmed to: (1) determine a position of a pump element and a position of a shaft of the electric motor, (2) determine a pump stroke position from the position of the pump element relative to the position of the shaft of the electric motor, and (3) control a power sent to the electric motor according to the pump stroke position.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the controller further comprises a pump electric motor control (“PEMC”) module that receives sensor signals from the sensors and determines the pump stroke position. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the controller is programmed to select a target power profile from a table with various target power profiles stored in a memory of the controller. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is programmed to select a target control power from the target power profiles, where the target control power is determined based on the position of the shaft relative to the position of the pump element. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is programmed to select a target control power that is in phase with the position of the pump element. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is programmed to select a target control power that is out of phase with the position of the pump element. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is programmed to select a target control power operating at any increased or decreased level in order to improve the overall performance of the pump. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the controller is further programmed to control the power sent to the electric motor by using a power control device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein controller is further programmed to control the power sent to the electric motor by a voltage control or a current control.