FPGA-based speed controller design for a ceiling fan motor

The rotor position estimation and the speed control for drives of the ceiling fan motor (an outer-rotor permanent magnet synchronous motor) are studied in this paper. Then, the implementation of the aforementioned estimator and control algorithm using FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) is proposed. In the aspect of the rotor speed control, an I-ƒ start-up strategy is applied when the motor runs at the standstill and the low-speed condition, then switches to the sliding mode observer (SMO) based sensorless field-oriented control (sensorless FOC) at the general speed condition. Further, the proposed estimation and control IP (Intellectual Properties) will be realized with FPGA for validating its correctness. Finally, an experimental system with an outer-rotor ceiling fan, a motor drive circuit and an FPGA board are setup to prove the effectiveness and correctness of the adopted rotor position estimation and rotor speed control algorithm.