Abstract: An automatic machining apparatus includes means of sensing or measuring displacements of a work model, manual operation means for manually operating said sensing means, a displacement determining device for measuring the pressure difference responsive to the displacement measured by said sensing means, means for conversion of said pressure difference into electric signals and transmission of said signals, means for memorizing said signals transmitted from the signal transmitting means and storing the information in response to said transmitted signals, including means for computing the positional difference or disagreement between the sensing means and the work model, means for displacing machining means for machining a work piece in accordance with the necessary information provided from the memory stored in the memorizing means, means for slidably, rotatably or withdrawably mounting the sensing means nearby the machining means, means for holding the work model or work piece, means of controlling the holding

Abstract: The present invention provides an automatic control system for position following and reciprocating motion of a controlled object. By using a specially designed controlling switch, and a pair of variable resistor for varying the position of the demanding object, the position of the controlled object and its motion pattern may be controlled. Using the automatic control system of the present invention, the motion characteristics of best deceleration rate for the controlled object may be obtained. And the automatic system of the present invention may improve the disadvantages of the conventional position control device contributes a perfectly ideal automatic control for the motor-operated or hydraulically-operated mechanism.

Abstract: In control drives for high speed blanking presses, a serious problem of excessive tool wear arises from increases in the immersion depth of a top tool into its associated bottom tool when the stroke frequency increases. To overcome this, a control drive is provided wherein the top tool is held at a substantially constant immersion depth in the opening in the bottom tool over the entire stroke frequency range of the press. A measuring instrument detects the stroke frequency. This detected frequency is fed into a control circuit programmed with a characteristic corresponding to either immersion depth or ram adjustment as a function of stroke frequency. The output of the control circuit is a control signal coupled to a drive motor to maintain the constant immersion depth.

Abstract: The present invention concerns electrical control circuits which are particularly applicable to use and controlling the starting of electric motors. The invention thus provides a sensing and switching circuit capable of automatically to bring into and out of operation the start winding of an electric motor at appropriate motor speeds. Appropriate means sense a voltage or current level and a trigger response to the sensed value to supply firing pulses to the gate of a triac. The trigger element is preferably an M.O.S. integrated circuit multivibrator.

Abstract: An inverter (34) which provides power to an A. C. machine (28) is controlled by a circuit (36) employing PWM control strategy whereby A. C. power is supplied to the machine at a preselectable frequency and preselectable voltage. This is accomplished by the technique of waveform notching in which the shapes of the notches are varied to determine the average energy content of the overall waveform. Through this arrangement, the operational efficiency of the A. C. machine is optimized. The control circuit includes a microcomputer and memory element which receive various parametric inputs and calculate optimized machine control data signals therefrom. The control data is asynchronously loaded into the inverter through an intermediate buffer (38). A base drive and overlap protection circuit is included to insure that both transistors of a complimentary pair are not conducting at the same time.

Abstract: Method of programming an electronic processor to control an apparatus in which a tool performs a series of discrete operations on a work piece. Initially a pattern is traced manually by a tracer to reflect working of the tool on the work piece with the processor in "Record" mode and input position and location signals are simultaneously generated and recorded to reflect the relative positions of the tracer and pattern. When programmed, the processor is set in "Playback" mode and output position and location signals are fed to apparatus to position tool on work piece reflecting pattern and tracer positions. For accurate positioning of tool and work piece, pattern is a template with tooling indexes that could be made on template in "Record" mode, if desired.

Abstract: In order to attain a more suitable control of a robot unit which serves a machine tool in accordance with various conditions of the operations of the machine tool and the robot unit, the number of the kinds of signals produced in the machine tool is increased and a predetermined control of the robot unit is attained in response to each of the increased kinds of signals.

Abstract: A servo mechanism is illustrated whereby movement of a motor device subsequent to application of drive signals is sensed to determine erroneous movement due to detrimental forces such as spring action. Compensating signals are generated to modify the drive signals whereby the motor is accurately step positioned with each set of drive pulses.

Abstract: Disclosed is a stepping motor control utilizing a microprocessor. The control is suitable for driving one or more stepping motors one at a time or in unison. In the illustrated embodiment when plural motors are driven together they are driven at the same rate or at rates in a fixed proportion to one another although several of the features of the invention are suitable for use in circuits providing contouring control; i.e., where separate motors are driven at separate stepping rates proportional to the relative distances each is to traverse for a single movement. An acceleration/deceleration circuit is utilized which provides simple yet highly accurate and efficient control of the stepping motors. Feed rate compensation for simultaneous drive of two motors is provided. Also a means is provided to allow stepping rates in excess of the counting rate capability of the microprocessor.

Abstract: An electrical control system (31) for a tire building machine servicer (10) and method for controlling the position of a component material (13) emitted from the servicer (10) on a conveyor (12) includes an electrical guidance system (33) and an electrical drive tracking system (34). The electrical guidance system (33) includes two cameras (39, 40) providing pulse train output signals indicative of the position of the material edges relative to a fixed longitudinal axis (23), the number of pulses in which are counted in lateral position error counter (46) to provide an error correction signal to a conveyor position drive motor (30). The electrical drive tracking system (34) includes two encoders (81, 82) providing pulse train output signals indicative of the position of the component material (13) relative to the locus of points of an elastic material on a rotatable tire building drum (15).

Abstract: A motor control positioning apparatus and method are disclosed wherein variable duration pulses are fed to a DC motor. After the vicinity of the destination has been reached, the final pulsing stage is initiated, in which a short duration pulse is fed to the motor; position is then checked to determine if forward movement of the driven element has occured; and if movement has not occurred, the pulse duration is increased by an increment which is repeated until movement does occur. Thereupon a new series of such pulses is started; and this cycling continues until destination is reached.

Abstract: This switching amplifier is for driving inductive loads, stepping motors in particular. This amplifier uses dual threshold concept with improvements to the current feedback. These improvements compensate for errors in the feedback signals of the prior art. These improvements measure currents erroneously omitted or included in the feedback signal and add or subtract said measurements from said feedback to improve signal fidelity.

Abstract: A stepper motor control includes an integrator, a first error amplifier comparing the integrator output with a feedback signal from a shaft position transducer, a second error amplifier comparing the transducer output with a demand signal, a low wins selector which passes to the integrator the output of whichever one of the first and second error amplifier is producing the lowest absolute value output, integrator reset means sensitive to the output of the first error amplifier and acting to limit the slew rate of the integrator output, a pulse generator driven by the selector and a motor drive circuit pulsing the motor coils.

Abstract: A thermally controlled servo system in which a member supporting the drive for a device to be accurately positioned is moved relative to a stationary support member in response to changes in temperature of an elongated, tensioned member. Changes in temperature of the tensioned member are achieved by regulating the current flow through the tensioned member in accordance with a control signal derived from an error signal generated by the device to be positioned.

Abstract: The control of the operation of an electric circuit element, such as an electrochemical cell, is performed by positive feedback servocircuitry developing an error signal or inherent noise component, and having algebraic computing capability for developing the compensating control. Current follower circuitry is arranged for developing a potential proportional to the current drawn by the electric circuit element to be controlled. A portion of this potential is algebraically combined with the externally applied operating electric wave. The inherent noise component of the control circuitry is sensed by a high pass filter and an ac-dc converting circuit and thereafter integrated for generating a slowly varying potential for determining the portion of the potential derived by sensing the current. The two potentials are applied to a conventional multiplying circuit and the product potential combined with the operating wave.

Abstract: A control system for rigidly stopping the spindle of a machine tool at a prescribed angular position when a tool is to be changed, without the use of a mechanical brake. Provided for this purpose is an orientation control circuit adapted to produce an output signal of zero potential when the spindle is at a prescribed stopping position, and an output signal of a potential proportional to the amount of angular deviation when the spindle is displaced from the prescribed stopping position. To stop the spindle at a prescribed stopping position, the output signal from the orientation control circuit is delivered in place of a speed command signal to a speed control loop of the type which limits to zero the difference between the speed command signal and a speed feedback signal. When the spindle is at rest, the feedback function of the speed control loop holds the rotary shaft of the spindle motor rigidly at the stopping position as if a mechanical brake were applied thereto.

Abstract: A driver for positioning the postage amount handles of a postage meter, the driver including motors which, in response to control signals from a postage computer, axially displace shafts along paths generally parallel to the paths of the postage meter handles. The shafts support actuator fingers which couple the shaft movement to the respective handles. An optical interruptor for each shaft senses various shaft positions and provides signals to the postage computer which are used in part to develop the control signals.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to an improved integrating acceleration switch of the type having a mass suspended within a fluid filled chamber, with the motion of the mass initially opposed by a spring and subsequently not so opposed.

Abstract: The invention contemplates a micromanipulator as for the manipulation of a vitrectomy instrument, wherein a single remotely operable control means is effective through three independent spherical-coordinate servoelectric drives to selectively control the operative end of the instrument, within an operating volume defined by spherical coordinates centered at a fixed point of origin; in a vitrectomy, the fixed point of origin is illustratively the point of surgical entry through the pars plana of the eye.

Abstract: The invention discloses a digital position instruction signal modification device for use with a memory controlled manipulator apparatus of the type in which, during a teaching operation, a desired position of manipulator arm means is stored in memory means, and the stored position is read out during repetitive work cycles to cause the manipulator apparatus to reproduce a series of motions taught during the teaching operation. The digital position instruction or command read out from the memory means may be modified by a modifying value entered by a modifying value setting device so that all or desired digital position command or instruction signals stored in the memory means may be modified without repeating the teaching operation.