Abstract: A gyroscope erection system uses an electrolytic tilt transducer (21) to modulate oscillator signals (OSC, OSC) originating from a signal conditioning circuit (27). The signal conditioning circuit (27) receives the modulated oscillator signal and compares one unmodated oscillator signal with the modulated oscillator signal from the tilt transducer (21), to provide a demodulated signal. The demodulated signal is used to provide direction and amplitude signals to a pair of multipliers (45, 47). Output from the multipliers (45, 47) are amplified in order to drive a torquer (25).

Abstract: The present invention relates to a driving method of a stepping motor, wherein the hold position of the motor does not change and further no complicated control is required in controlling current for economizing power consumption by controlling the coil current in a manner that the balance of torque may not be disturbed by excitation winding.

Abstract: The method for monitoring the end positions of a controlling element having a servomotor (1) comprises the recognition of the end position, for instance by interruption of the flow of current to the servomotor by limit switches (4, 5), and the subsequent action of a control pulse of opposite direction on the servomotor in order to brake the servomotor.

Abstract: A position control system has a speed control loop for generating a torque command signal for a motor from the speed deviation between a speed command and an actual speed. The position control system includes command subdividing means (2) for subdividing the speed deviation (.epsilon.(i)) into a predetermined minute amount (.epsilon..sub.2 (i)=.alpha.) and a remaining amount (.epsilon..sub.1 (i)=.epsilon.(i)-.alpha.), integrating meand (3) for integrating the remaining amount (.epsilon..sub.1 (i)), and incompletely integrating means (4) for incompletely integrating the minute amount (.epsilon..sub.2 (i)). The output from the integrating means (3) and the output from the incompletely integrating means (4) are added, and the sum is issued as a torque command signal.

Abstract: An arrangement for controlling the position of a movable member, especially an aircraft control surface member, includes an operational amplifier and a capacitor connected in parallel to the amplifier. The control arrangement further includes a detector which detects the restoration of the supply of electric power following its interruption and generates a limited-duration pulse. This pulse is then used to close a switch, which is interposed between an input terminal of the capacitor and the ground, for the duration of this pulse, so that the capacitor is charged much more rapidly than otherwise. The output signal of the combination of the operational amplifier and the capacitor is supplied to an actuator for the movable member so that the extent of excursion of the movable member out of its desired position after the electric power supply has been restored is minimized.

Abstract: A signal amplifier including a bridge output stage, a comparator stage arranged to control a first part of the output stage in accordance with the polarity of an input signal, and a modulating stage arranged to control a second part of the output stage in accordance with the magnitude and polarity of the input signal. The signal amplifier is particularly suitable for fabrication as an integrated circuit.

Abstract: A closed loop motor system having a motor with a plurality of poles and motor windings associated therewith. The poles define full step motor output positions. The system is of the type that assigns intermediated current values to the motor windings for fine step positions of the motor. The system also comprises a motor output position encoder for generating an integral and fixed number of encoder pulses as the motor moves between any two motor poles. The pulses are equally spaced and at least some corresponding to the fine step positions. An initializing current comprising components for applying full step current values to motor windings for a time interval in which the motor output is assumed to align with a full step position, and components for zeroing the count in the counter and assigning the torque angle value, whereby the encoder does not require alignment relative to the motor.

Abstract: A position control method for controlling a position of an object on a machine tool such as a lathe having a plurality of axes. The control on one of the axes is conducted in accordance with a control input signal which is generated in response to a position command signal and a state variable for each axis so as to optimize an evaluation function J, wherein the control input signal U.sub.i is generated so as to optimize the evaluation function in such a manner as to reduce path error by taking into account not only the position command signal and the state variable concerning this axes but also the position command signal and the state variable concerning another axis.

Abstract: A digital servor system can swiftly stop a moving object, having a small friction resistance to the motion, at the position where the object should stop, without vibration thereof. A velocity command generating device (3) calculates a velocity command (V.sub.cmd) based on the deviation value of a position fedback from a position command detected by a position deviation detecting device (2). A velocity deviation detecting device (5) calculates a deviation (E) of a velocity fedback from the velocity command (V.sub.cmd). A torque command generating device (6) calculates a torque command (T.sub.cmd) giving a delay processing to the deviation (E), and outputs the torque command (T.sub.cmd) to a motor driving means (7).

Abstract: In an all-phase de-energized state of the stepping motor, all motor windings having different phases are energized. After the all-phase de-energized state is detected, the motor windings are sequentially energized in accordance with predetermined phase energization patterns. Each of the energizations of the motor windings lasts for a given interval chosen to allow the stepping motor to generate a starting torque greater than a maximal load torque. After energizations of the motor windings corresponding to one cycle of the phase energization patterns are completed, durations of the energizations of the motor windings are gradually shortened to increase a rotational speed of the stepping motor.

Abstract: To facilitate teaching work in an orthogonal three-axis playback measuring robot having an orthogonal three-axis actuating mechanism including a main arm; a multijoint arm including at least one rotary arm and one pivotal arm attached to an end of the main arm; and a probe attached to an end of the multijoint, in particular, a number of manipulation switches are arranged on an end of the main arm of the actuating mechanism and on outer surfaces of the rotary and pivotal arms of the multijoint arm in such a way that each pair of two switches are so arranged as to correspond to two opposite straight, rotary or pivotal movement directions of each of the above various arms.

Abstract: A controller for a magnetic bearing system which controls the magnetic attraction force acting between a rotor yoke rigidly secured to a rotary shaft and a pair of electromagnet stators rigidly secured to a casing on the basis of a signal output from a displacement sensor which measures relative displacement between the rotary shaft and the casing. The signal output from the displacement sensor is input to a compensation circuit. The signal output from the compensation circuit is input to both the non-inverting input terminal of one operational amplifier and the inverting input terminal of the other operational amplifier. An exciting coil bias voltage is input to the respective inverting input terminals of the two operational amplifiers.

Abstract: A servo system having an improved loop stability and response time. A phase shifting circuit is inserted in the feedback loop providing an open loop phase lag characteristic at a resonance frequency of a load system in a range of -270.degree. to -360.degree.. The transfer function of the phase shifting circuit is preferably of the form: ##EQU1## where .tau..sub.3 and .tau..sub.4 represent time constants of the circuit.

Abstract: A multi-axis Digital Signal Processor based servo controller system in which all servo and sensor interface boards are connected to a common backplane bus system enabling inter-board communication, with parallel processing using dual port memory and multiple DSP chips, and with each servo board having access to position data from other axis feedback sensors as well as their own, and a self-tuning control software architecture that uses the hardware architecture high speed to allow it to self-tune control constants to optimize performance.

Abstract: A motor-operated power steering apparatus suppresses the heating of an electric motor and its driver circuit by limiting a maximum value for a drive signal which drives the motor based on the average value of currents flowing through the motor.

Abstract: Apparatus for controlling torque and torque ripple in a variable reluctance motor uses a generated torque waveform for each phase of the number of phases associated with the motor and corresponds to an electrical current having a predetermined constant magnitude. The generated torque waveforms are utilized to provide a table of values representative of the electrical current magnitude at each of a number of sensed rotor angular positions. The values correspond to the torque produced by the motor when excited by an electric current having that value and the location of the value in a memory device are defined by the sensed angular position of the rotor and a desired torque command signal. Depending on the torque to be produced by the motor and the rotor position, the motor is excited with the value of current selected for one or a combination of phases to cause the motor to develop a desired torque which has a substantially flat and ripple-free response characteristic.

Abstract: A true average peak detector includes an input capacitor having a capacitance C and an output capacitor having a capacitance nC. N voltage samples are successively stored on the input capacitor and are transferred to the output capacitor without discharging the latter. The output voltage from the accumulated charge on the output capacitor is equal to a true average of the voltages of the n samples.

Abstract: Energizing system for a reluctance motor having at least two phases. A sensing and control circuit (1-5) which is constructed to indicate the inductance, or a clearly related magnitude, in the winding in the phase which is next to be energized or activated. The circuit is also constructed to detect the current in the winding in the energized phase and to correct the indicated value of the inductance, or related magnitude, with an operating parameter which has a dependency on the current value in the winding of the energized phase, and to compare this corrected value with a reference value and to utilize the rotational position of the motor rotor, when the corrected value coincides with the reference value, as a starting point for determining a rotational position for changing the energizing state of the phase winding.

Abstract: A device for compensating for actuator rate saturation is disclosed. The ice is an improvement to a servomechanism of the type wherein a command signal and a position feedback signal from a member being positioned are summed to produce an error signal for driving an actuator to position the member in accordance therewith. The improvement is a means for inverting the error signal when the ratio of the slope of the plot of the position feedback signal versus time to the slope of the plot of the command signal versus time is less than one and the polarity of the error signal is opposite to the polarity of the slope of the command signal, and the absolute value of the error signal is not increasing. Application of the invention to the flight controls of an aircraft is disclosed.

Abstract: A kinematic method to operate a multi-jointed robot to achieve coordinated, speed-invariant motion when the robot's end effector is moved along a predefined path. To accomplish such operation, a total execution time function is defined which is a function of acceleration time, slew time, and deceleration time for the joints. Values for the acceleration time, slew time, and deceleration time are calculated which minimize the total time function subject to constraints on the displacement, the limiting velocity, the limiting acceleration, and the limiting deceleration for the joints. Then, the end effector of the robot is operated such that all joints start moving at the same instant, all joints accelerate for the same period, all joints slew for the same period, and all joints decelerate for the same period.