Abstract: A system for allowing a robot to be moved and set up quickly to perform a variety of work tasks at different work locations is disclosed. Once roughly positioned at a work location, the robot uses position sensors to establish in its computer memory a set of coordinate axes which match precisely the intersections of the three planes of a reference structure which is in a fixed position relative to the work location. All robot movements required to carry out the work task are made with respect to this set of coordinate axes so that the work task program remains the same independent of the exact position of the robot. A sensor holder and sensor storage bracket which uses the straight line horizontal and vertical movement capability of the robot to permit a programmed pickup and storage of the sensor is disclosed.

Abstract: A numerical control equipment comprises a control section for applying to a drive motor for driving a table on which an object under measurement is placed a movement instruction for moving said object to a theoretical position, a position register for receiving a detection signal outputted by a position sensor adapted to detect the position of the table, a memory unit for storing instruction data separately according to functions and uses, and a measuring head for measuring the difference between the stop position of the object and a reference position simultaneously with positioning of the object to the theoretical position, wherein said control unit operates a measurement value provided by the measuring head and a register value of the position register and rewrites the contents of addresses provided separately according to functions and uses in the memory unit with an operated value as a measurement result.

Abstract: The invention provides a speed controller which detects the period of an AC signal containing information of the rotational speed of a motor and controls the rotational speed based on the detected period value and a reference speed value. More particularly, the speed controller computes the amount of the deviation of the AC signal based on continuously detected period values and the reference speed value, and then stores the computed deviation amount in a memory as a correction value. Using the correction value stored in the memory, the speed controller corrects the deviation of the period, and thus, the speed of the rotation of the motor can be controlled with extremely high precision.

Abstract: In an automatic control system including first and second control circuits, at least the second control circuit includes a proportional circuit and a differentiation circuit in addition to an integration circuit. When an object is controlled by switching from the first control circuit to the second circuit, an error signal between a target signal and a feedback signal is first applied to the integration circuit of the second control circuit, and after the lapse of predetermined time, the error signal is applied to the proportional circuit and the differentiation circuit of the second control circuit. With the constitution, jumping phenomenon is prevented which would be caused from the proportional circuit and the differentiation circuit.

Abstract: The invention relates to a pick-feed method in rotating body tracing for performing tracer control by rotating a model (MDL), advancing or retracting a stylus (ST) in contact with the model, in dependence upon the shape of the model, in a direction of the center of rotation (O.sub.M), and pick-feeding the stylus in a plane parallel to a rotational axis of the model every revolution of the model. This pick-feed method includes forming first and second areas (AI, AII) by dividing the full circumference of the model in half by a straight line (LL') connecting a point (P.sub.L) having a predetermined rotational angle (.theta..sub.L) and the center of rotation (O.sub.

Abstract: A circuit for controlling the speed of a subfractional horsepower DC motor has a driver stage with a switch that interrupts the motor current in repeated succession so that a pulse-like current is provided, and the motor EMF is sampled synchronously with the motor current interruption, with the sampled value being supplied to a comparator wherein it is compared to a rated value. The output of the comparator is used to control the driver stage which includes the switch. Two pulse duration modulators are provided which respectively independently control the motor current and voltage. The pulse duration modulator which controls the current generates pulse pauses which are always sufficiently long to permit the EMF measurement to be completed. The pulse duration modulator operates at a frequency above the audible frequency range so that its pulse pauses are short enough to prevent the motor current from noticeably failing or being completely interrupted.

Abstract: A diagnostic apparatus which diagnoses a failure of the machine by comparing a relation between the displacement amount of a varible for making the variable coincide with a target value while the machine is normally operated and the response time required thereof with that while the machine is actually operated. Accordingly the apparatus can diagnose the failure based on transient response while the machine is actually operated, so that early detection of the failure is possible without additional measures.

Abstract: An unmanned vehicle guidance system has a guide lane pattern and sensors. The guide lane pattern is formed by placing or burying an object to be detected in a lattice manner on or in a floor surface. The sensors are loaded on an unmanned vehicle and detect the object to be detected.

Abstract: In a speed control system for a carriage movable along a predetermined path, light beams originating at the ends of the path are deflected by light conductors aboard the carriage so that they are interrupted, as the carriage moves, by a slotted plate extending along the path. The light beams are then deflected by light conductors so that they are directed along the carriage path to light receivers situated at the ends of the path. Electrical pulses from the light receivers are ORed together and converted by a transducer to a signal representative of the actual carriage speed, and by a counter to a signal representative of the carriage position. The carriage position signal is converted, in accordance with a predetermined functional relationship, to a speed set signal which is compared with the actual carriage speed. A signal, representative of the difference between the actual speed and the set speed is used to control the driving motor for the carriage.

Abstract: A centrifuge instrument has a vacuum pump responsive to a rotor recognition arrangement. The pump is operative to provide a predetermined pressure level in the chamber compatible with which one of a plurality of rotors is mounted within the chamber. The requested angular velocity can also be used to control the pressure level in the chamber.

Abstract: An electroconductive guide line is laid along a travelling path of a driverless car on the ground side, while on the driverless car side are provided a means for inducing electromotive force in the guide line and a means for detecting a magnetic field created upon generation of an electric current in the guide line.

Abstract: A system and method are disclosed for determining process dead time and for controlling a process using a dead time compensated control loop. The dead time is determined from a cross-correlation function of a perturbing signal applied to a processing station and the output of a sensor which detects physical characteristics of the product controlled by the processing station affected by the perturbing signal.

Abstract: In a sensor having a drive winding for establishing a forward field, an electrically conductive screen is displaceable relative to a sense winding. In the presence of the drive field, eddy currents are generated in the screen to establish a counter-field opposing the forward field, so that the sense winding is shaded by the screen to a varying extent during relative displacement of screen and sense winding and the voltage induced in the sense winding is accordingly correspondingly varied. Application of a high frequency input to the drive winding results in a modulated output from the sense winding which may be demodulated to provide a signal indicative of screen position relative to sense winding. The position signal may be further processed to provide a speed signal. The sensor may assume a multiplicity of linear or planar, rotational and axial or solenoidal configurations.

Abstract: A robot is provided with an arm having a plurality of motor driven joints. A power amplifier supplies drive current to each joint motor. Respective digital feedback control loop arrangements generate voltage commands from which signals are generated to operate the power amplifiers.Digital motor current, position and velocity feedback signals are generated for position, velocity and torque control loops in the digital feedback control loop arrangement. System resource facilities provide general support for the operation of the digital feedback control loops and include three separate communications controllers, a dual port microprocessor interfacing memory, a time stamp clock, a program memory and a nonvolatile data memory.A system level microprocessor based system or a microprocessor based position/velocity control system executes motion software from the program memory means according to whether the user desires an expanded performance robot control or a basic robot control.

Abstract: A man to machine interface for the control of video or motion picture camera movement for use with a camera aiming system which can reproduce a specific camera movement any number of times. The interface moves the camera in the pan or tilt axis giving an operator a natural control feel while actually driving the camera movement with a motor drive. A shaft encoder detects the velocity of the motor drive and stores such information over time in a memory. The data stored in the memory may be read out at a later time and used by the motor drive to replicate the movement of the camera.

Abstract: A device for controlling the field current of a DC motor supplied from an AC network and which is operated beyond the normal speed of the DC motor in the higher speed range obtainable by weakening of the field of the DC motor, there being provided for the apportioning of the field current of the DC motor a phase angle control circuit which is operated depending on a control variable obtained from the respective measured speed of the DC motor by a function-forming device as a function of the speed, the function-forming device comprising a function memory which contains values of the control variable correlated to individual speed values stored in a matrix in tabulated form, the correlation of these values individually corresponding to the DC motor being established when the DC motor starts up for the first time, and where a constant dependence of the control variable on the speed is established either by a polygonal line obtained by linear interpolation from the value pairs stored in tabulated form or by a cur

Abstract: A motor control system and related method are provided for phase and frequency locked operation of multiple spindle motors in a computer disk drive environment or the like, for coupling two or more disk drive units together to provide expanded data storage capability. The control system comprises a hybrid digital and analog network for producing a pulse width modulated control signal to control a disk drive spindle motor in a manner achieving frequency and phase locked relation with a reference signal. Multiple spindle motors are similarly driven in relation with the same reference signal, whereby the spindle motors are frequency and phase locked with respect to each other to permit, for example, parallel data transfer among the multiple disk drive units.

Abstract: A direct drive motor system for controlling driving of the joints of a multi-jointed robot, comprising a motor portion, a rotation detecting portion, a position control portion, a speed control portion, a driving circuit and a tuning portion, wherein the motor portion is of an inductor type, the rotation detection portion uses an optical rotary encoder or magnetic resolver, and the position control portion is arranged to control in a feedback manner the rotational position of the motor with a tertiary servo system with software. The system's driving circuit has a feedback control loop for the current of the motor coil, and a detection circuit for the current includes a small signal isolator. The tuning portion tunes the servo systems of the speed control portion and the position control portion. As a result, the system simultaneously satisfies various requirements of such a direct drive motor.

Abstract: In an electromagnetic bearing control apparatus for suppressing vibratory rotational motion of a rotor, a selective extraction unit is provided in servo-circuits which control currents being supplied to electromagnetic coils in accordance with x and y-component signals of radial displacement of the rotor such that the rotor is held in a predetermined radial position, and x and y-component signals delivered out of the selective extraction unit are crossed and inputted to the servo-circuits so as to be added in opposite polarities to processed x and y-component signals of radial displacement.

Abstract: A control method for an injection motor is capable of preventing the injection motor from overheating. Injection motor current values are sampled at intervals having a predetermined sampling cycle. The value for each interval is squared and the squares are summed up over an injection molding cycle time and multiplied by the predetermined sampling time cycle. A ratio of an amount of heat produced when a continuous rated current flows and that produced when a maximum current flows is also determined. The injection molding cycle time is then subtracted from a value obtained by dividing the above-mentioned multiplied sum by the product of the above-mentioned ratio and the square of the maximum current. A determination is made as to whether the sign of the resultant value is positive or negative. When the sign is positive the motor is in its overheating state, and a quiescent time is provided to lengthen the injection molding cycle time (steps S8-S11).