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TI DSP Controller Enables Higher Performance, Lower System Cost for Digital Motor Control

DSP Solution Brings Cost-Effective, Variable-Speed Brushless Motor Control to High-Volume Applications

The world’s first single-chip digital signal processor (DSP) controller, developed by Texas Instruments (TI), is designed specifically to improve system performance, lower system cost, and reduce component count in digital motor and motion control (DMC) systems. The device is built around a DSP core, enabling the use of modern control algorithms that support a motor-industry trend towards improved control of economical brushless motors in a broad range of products.

Reducing Product Costs, Power Consumption

The TMS320F240 is the first in a series of products that will provide optimized motor-control configurations for various end-equipment markets including heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) blowers, compressors and heat pumps, factory automation systems (motor drives and power inverters), major appliances (direct-drive horizontal-AXIS clothes washers, refrigerator compressors), office products (printers, copiers, tape drives), automotive control devices (electronic power steering, anti-lock brakes), and power conversion and metering applications (uninterruptible power supplies, electronic metering).

"The performance and peripheral integration of TI's TMS320F240 DSP solution fully meets the technical requirements of motion control systems for Electrolux products," said Giovanni Cecchini, motion control group manager, Electrolux. "In particular the 'open and modular' architecture allows great flexibility in the design of cost-effective, energy-efficient and silent motion controls, and can easily implement smarter Electrolux appliance control algorithms which are requiring higher computing capabilities than what we have available."

"TEMIC microelectronic found the TMS320F240 DSP to be the best solution for improving the performance and cost of our single and three-phase inverters in our next generation of motor controllers for HVAC heat pumps," said Reinhold Sedlmeier, manager of pump applications, of TEMIC Telefunken microelectronic GmbH. The DSP core in combination with the optimized peripheral set for PWM generation is the reason we chose the 'F240 DSP at TEMIC."

"The performance and peripheral integration of the TMS320F240 is driving enhancements in TRW power steering products," said Joe Miller, project manager, Electrically Powered Steering at TRW, Inc.

In the example of a horizontal clothes washer, using a 'F240 in the motor drive can help facilitate up to 40 percent energy savings, helping these water and detergent-conservative washers lower their electricity consumption. By allowing the use of smaller AC motors, and reducing or eliminating mechanical-linkage and counterweight components, the 'F240 enables the production of lighter and quieter washing machines. DSP-based electronic control in washing machines allows controlled deceleration and acceleration during motor reversals and speed changes, plus about two-thirds less motor torque than fixed-speed DC motors, both of which result in smoother, quieter operation. An 'F240 system can also ramp up more smoothly to fast spin cycles, reducing instances of imbalanced distribution of clothing.

DSP Solution Optimized for Digital Motor Control

The 'F240 DSP uses TI's T320C2xLP 16-bit, fixed-point DSP core, and integrates a motor-control event manager whose features allow the device to control electronically commutated motors in the most optimal fashion. The device leverages TI's reusable DSP core technology, and demonstrates TI's capability to produce application-specific DSP solutions through integration of a DSP core along with digital and mixed-signal peripherals on a single chip. As the first DSP optimized for digital motor control, the 'F240 supports motor commutation, command generation, control algorithm processing, data communications, and system monitoring functions. The combination of a DSP core, the motor-control optimized event manager and on-chip A/D all working together provides a single-chip digital control solution for motor drive designs.

"Because this device integrates such a powerful processor with a comprehensive set of motor-control peripherals, the 'F240 represents a major breakthrough towards enabling low-cost, closed-loop motor control solutions," said Raj Chirayil, digital control systems business unit manager at TI. The 'F240 includes a 20 MIPS DSP core, an event manager, two serial interfaces, a pair of 10-bit A/D converters, 28 bits of digital I/O, a watchdog timer, and 16K words of flash memory. Chirayil continued, "With estimates of more than 10 billion motors being manufactured every year, we see an opportunity to enable cost-effective advancements in a very large market through the power of DSP solutions."

Event Manager, DSP Core Change System Design Approach

DSP-based electronic motor drive systems enable variable-speed direct drive of inexpensive brushless motors, eliminating or reducing the need for belts, gears, sensors, hydraulics, pulleys and counterweights. The processing power of the 'F240 enables more robust system performance through the use of modern intelligent and adaptive control algorithms, which allows the running of a motor at precisely the necessary speeds, adapting to loading, temperature, and other parameters. This improves the motor's energy efficiency and reliability, reducing noise by improving torque ripple, and lowering system cost by reducing parts count and maintenance costs.

The 'F240's integrated event manager uniquely positions the device as an optimized DSP solution for digital motor control. The event manager supports up to 12 pulse-width modulation (PWM) outputs with PWM and I/O features that include three timers, nine comparators, dead-band generation logic, and a state-space vector PWM generator. Also, in the event manager are four capture inputs, two of which can serve as direct inputs for optical-encoder quadrature pulses. Dual on-chip, 10-bit analog-to-digital converters provide precise conversion of information such as current or voltage feedback. All these features help the 'F240 reduce component count, power consumption, vibration, and noise.

Migration Path Through Compatibility

The TMS320F240 is code compatible with DSPs in TI's TMS320C1x, TMS320C2x, TMS230C2xx, and TMS320C5x device families. The device leverages TMS320 fixed-point DSP software development tools and JTAG emulation support allowing developers to easily migrate motor-control applications from microcontrollers to the new DSP.