Abstract: An induction motor is operated under sliding mode control such that the motor shaft position follows a predetermined trajectory. The motor drive's improved insensitivity to load disturbances makes it particularly well adapted to servo applications such as robot and machine tool applications. A sliding mode controller determines the correct torque command which causes the motor shaft position to follow the desired trajectory.

Abstract: An apparatus for sensing the location of a structural member on which a working operation is to be performed. The apparatus includes a probe that is connected to a rack and is mounted for movement between an inoperative position and an operative position, where the probe will be in engagement with the structural member. The rack is carried by a piston which is slideable within a cylinder and by introducing fluid pressure into one end of the cylinder, the rack will be extended to thereby move the probe from the inoperative to the operative position. Engaged with the rack is a pinion and linear movement of the rack will rotate the pinion and rotation of the pinion acts through a resolver to generate a signal indicating the precise position of the structural member.

Abstract: A tool spindle is driven by a motor and is connected to an angle of rotation transmitter. The signal of the transmitter connected to the tool spindle represents the desired value for the drive of a work piece spindle. The angle of rotation of the workpiece spindle is measured with another transmitter. A control deviation signal which is fed into a servo amplifier of the workpiece spindle drive via a controller is formed from both transmitter signals. A variable observer circuit into which the control deviation signal is also fed is arranged in parallel to the controller. The control deviation signal is stored sequentially in several sample and hold circuits by means of a multiplexer circuit during one tool revolution. The content of each sample and hold circuit is integrated by means of a respective integrator. During the following cycle, a correction signal, which is added to the output signal of the controller, is formed by sequential interrogation of the integrators by means of a demultiplexer circuit.

Abstract: This adapter has a housing containing an automatic electrical switching circuit, a plug for connecting the circuit to an external A.C. power source, and sockets for mounting primary and standby lamps on the housing in circuit with the switching circuit. The circuit includes a conventional rectifier bridge and a transistor which is normally biased off so that the standby lamp is off, when the primary lamp lights. When the primary lamp goes off (burns out), the transistor conducts and the standby lamp is automatically turned on. When the primary lamp again operates the transistor is again biased off and the standby lamp is automatically turned off. A signal lamp in the switch circuit lights when the standby lamp is on. Motors or other power consuming devices may be substituted for the lamps.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for automatically locating an object at a vision station by performing an edge-detecting algorithm on at least a portion of the gray-scale digitized image of the object. Preferably, the algorithm comprises an implementation of the Hough transform which includes the iterative application of a direction-sensitive, edge-detecting convolution to the digital image. Each convolution is applied with a different convolution mask or filter, each of which is calculated to give maximum response to an edge of the object in a different direction. The method and system have the ability to extract edges from low contrast images. Also, preferably, a systolic array processor applies the convolutions.

Abstract: The power output of a variable speed motor is limited to a safe level by determining the maximum allowable speed corresponding to a maximum power output limit over a range of load conditions and then maintaining the speed of the motor below those maximum allowable speeds at the particular load conditions existing at the time.

Abstract: In the drive for a textile working machine, for the synchronized yet independently operable drive of at least two shafts, brake-clutch units associated with each shaft are provided, which are driven by a common electric motor. To achieve a regulation and control having good dynamic properties and fast response, provision is made for the brake-clutch units to be controlled such that the rotatory speed of the driven shaft of the first brake-clutch unit is given as a required value, and the rotatory speed of the second brake-clutch unit is synchronized through the rotatory speed of the driven shaft of the first brake-clutch unit, systems being provided for establishing the rotatory speed ratio.

Abstract: A playback system grinding robot is disclosed which includes a No. 2 arm attached for ocillation to the head of a No. 1 arm turning around a main axis, a drive arm arranged adjacent to the No. 1 arm so as to drive the No. 2 arm, and abrasive tool attached to the No. 2 arm head axis and pressed perpendicularly downward by a fluid cylinder to be freely turnable in different directions, and possessed of a dual degree-of-freedom of control in the polar coordinate system. A positional data generator for indicating a horizontal movement position of the abrasive tool is also provided as is a memory to store directional data together with positional data in the memory at the time of "teaching", especially to input turnback point data on the tool traveling locus exactly into the memory in accordance with a change of the directional data.

Abstract: The robot assembly of an industrial robot comprises a stationary robot component (11) and a plurality of movable robot components (12, 13, 14). At least parts of the stationary robot component and the movable robot components have airtight chambers (15, 16, 17) communicating with each other and intended to be kept at a pressure higher than a predetermined level which is higher than an external atmospheric pressure. Robot driving motors (18 to 23) for driving the movable robot components are arranged within the airtight chambers. A driving motor controller (27) for driving and controlling the robot driving motors is connected to the robot driving motors by means of electric cables arranged within the airtight chambers. Pressure switches (25) supply signals to the driving motor controller to stop the robot driving motors, respectively, upon detection of the pressure in the airtight chambers when the pressure in the airtight chambers drops below the predetermined level.

Abstract: A numerical control unit includes a program creating device (TPC) having an input device (104) for entering data for the creation of a machining program. A processor (101) creates a machining program in accordance with the entered data, and a memory (103) stores the created machining program. The numerical control unit also includes a machine control device (NCC) having a memory (203) for storing a machining program transferred from the memory (103), and a processor (201) which executes the machining program stored in the memory (203) to numerically control a connected industrial machine (MAC). By using this numerical control unit creation of a machining program and control of the machine may be carried out concurrently. The numerical control unit also includes a switching circuit (301) for selectively connecting an external unit (IOC) to the program creating device (TPC) or to the machine control device (NCC), thereby making it possible to preserve a machining program in the external unit (IOC).

Abstract: A line tracking control method of controlling a robot (51) to cooperate with a conveyor (50) in its movement determines a speed of movement of the conveyor (50) as a constant, determines a corrective variable (d) based on the determined conveyor speed, finds a boundary value (B) for the speed of the conveyor (50), compares the boundary value with an actual speed of the conveyor (50), and adding or subtracting the corrective variable (D) based on the result of comparison, thus determining a command value for the robot.

Abstract: A boom positioning apparatus for a rock drill, including a boom mounted with a drilling apparatus, an input device for determining, as set values expressed in a rectangular coordinate system, positions and directions of a number of drilling points formed on a drilling plane disposed immediately in front of a facing so as to transform the set values into values expressed in a coordinate system defined with respect to the boom, respectively, a compensating device for adding compensation values to the set values such that actual drilling positions are located at normal positions of the drilling points, respectively, a boom positioning servo control device, a feedback device for feeding displacement amounts of the boom back to the boom positioning servo control device and a control unit for controlling the drilling apparatus.

Abstract: When an output from a sensor (11) is decreased below a key-lock release preset value (K), a comparator (19) generates an output so as to reset a flip-flop (21) and to enable an AND gate (22). When the output from the sensor (11) is decreased below a reset preset value (R), a comparator (20) generates an output so as to supply a reset signal to an integrated value holding unit (16) through the AND gate (22) and to reset the flip-flop (21), thus thereafter restarting an integral action by the integrated value holding unit (16).

Abstract: A controller for a voice coil motor driven disk file actuator is described. The device has an online adjustable gain characteristic for controlling movement of the actuator assembly and an estimator that estimates actuator velocity and bias. Forward gain is estimated from position and coil current measurements and compared with a nominal value to create an error signal used to adjust the controller and estimator gain characteristics. The control technique allows changes in the open loop system without changing the closed loop performance. By monitoring loop gain it is possible to alter compensator gains to maintain a constant closed loop performance.

Abstract: An apparatus for compensating for a quantization error has a time detector circuit for detecting a time signal on the basis of the number of clock signals occurring within the period of such time signal, a quantization error detector circuit for generating a quantization error time signal corresponding to a time difference between the time signal and the clock signal and being in the form of an analog voltage value, and a compensator circuit for compensating a digital detected time derived from the time detector circuit on the basis of an analog quantization error time from the quantization error detector circuit.

Abstract: A multi-layered tactile sensing skin is provided for a robotic arm or the like. The skin includes adjacent layers of electrically insulative film having opposed contiguous surfaces. An electrically conductive carbon based compound is applied uniformly to one of the surfaces, while the other surface is selectively coated with silver oxide to form a series of pairs of first and second electrically conductive regions separated from one another by a dielectric gap. The carbon based conductor bridges the gap betwen the conductive regions in each pair, permitting flow of electrical current between the regions. The current flow increases with an increase in pressure over the interface between the layers of film, and the amperage increase can be utilized to trigger a signal to the robot power supply, to decelerate, stop or reverse arm movement.

Abstract: A micromanipulator system for precisely positioning an object in an xz plane and then grossly moving the object in the y direction into a hole z is disclosed. The micromanipulator system includes a base and a platform mounted to the base having five different degrees of movement (in the x direction, y direction, z direction, about the x axis, and about the z axis). Suitable moving mechanisms are provided for reversibly moving the platform in the five degrees of movement. Four of the degrees of movement being for fine or precise positioning of the platform and the fifth degree of movement in the y direction being a coarse positioning movement. A device for holding the obejct to the platform is then provided such that after precisely positioning the platform in the xz plane, the object is coarsely moved in the y direction toward the hole. Preferably, a device is provided for detecting an opposition force to the coarse movement of the object in the y direction.

Abstract: Motor control circuits having solid-state switching elements are commonly used on industrial vehicles such as lift trucks. A short circuit condition in the motor circuit can cause catastrophic failure of the semiconductor switching element. The instant invention detects such a short circuit condition and modifies the motor control signals supplied by a chopper circuit to a switching element. The apparatus includes a trigger circuit for receiving the motor control signals and sensing a voltage across the motor produced in response to electrical power delivered from a power supply.

Abstract: A matrix print head drive motor is controlled in speed with a long term and a short controller. The short term controller maintains the speed of the drive motor at a relative constant for a range of torque loadings. When the torque range shifts, the long range controller shifts the response range of the short term controller so as to maintain the speed of the drive motor substantially constant.

Abstract: A velocity estimator for a voice coil motor driven actuator is implemented by integrating coil current to generate the estimated velocity and integrating the estimated velocity signal to produce an estimated position signal. The estimated position signal and a measured position signal are compared and the derived error signal is applied as negative feedback to the summing junctions at the inputs of each of the integrators. The use of an integrated signal results in reduced noise influence on the position error signal which, in the environment of a data disk drive, results in more reliable recording of track crossings and the ability to meet rigid product specifications using simple servo patterns.