James M Langston

US Patent:

20190258211, Aug 22, 2019

Filed:

Feb 20, 2019

Appl. No.:

16/280711

Inventors:

- Tallahassee FL, US
Karl Schoder - Crawfordville FL, US
Mark Stanovich - Crawfordville FL, US
James Langston - Crawfordville FL, US

International Classification:

G05B 17/02

Abstract:

A controller hardware in the loop (CHIL) interface is disclosed. The CHIL interface comprises software and hardware that redirects a signal flow, including modulation signals and measurements exchanged between controller logic and a power electronics converter (PEC), to a CHIL port. Accordingly, the CHIL port provides access to the controller logic, at a digital level, throughout phases of the controller's lifetime (i.e., design, installation, maintenance, upgrade). Thus, the CHIL interface facilitates the use of PEC simulators for testing. The CHIL interface can detach the actual PEC from the control logic so testing can be performed with or without an operating PEC and can avoid the need for dedicated and error prone signal conditioning circuitry that is external to the controller.