Patents by Inventor Stefan BRUCKER

Stefan BRUCKER has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20260077964
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a method and a device for monitoring the operation of a transport device in the form of a stator linear motor having a transport section along which a multiplicity of drive coils are arranged. At least one transport unit is moved along the transport section, wherein drive magnets of the transport unit interact with the drive coils to produce a propulsion force. At least one drive coil is selected as a measurement coil. While the transport unit is moving over the measurement coil, a control unit predefines a variable for the measurement coil in such a way that the present coil current in the measurement coil is regulated. A unit records a time characteristic of the variable while the transport unit is moving over the measurement coil, and evaluates the time characteristic by an evaluation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 28, 2023
    Publication date: March 19, 2026
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Stefan Brucker
  • Publication number: 20250242486
    Abstract: In order to allow flexible operation of a machine with a transport device having a linear motor, it is provided, that at least one excitation magnet is provided on a movable part of the machine, and that at least one of the plurality of drive coils is used as excitation coil that is energized with an excitation coil voltage for generating an alternating excitation electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the excitation coil, wherein the excitation electromagnetic field interacts with the excitation magnet for producing mechanical vibrations of the movable part of the machine, wherein said mechanical vibrations cause a sound that is used for the operation of the machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2024
    Publication date: July 31, 2025
    Inventors: Michael Herbst, Stefan Brucker
  • Publication number: 20250226777
    Abstract: A method for operating an electromagnetic transport device is provided. According to the method, an area sum current is determined for a neutral point area of the long stator of the transport device, and a compensation current is fed into at least one active drive coil of the long stator such that a deviation of the area sum current from a predefined area sum current setpoint is reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2022
    Publication date: July 10, 2025
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Stefan Brucker
  • Patent number: 10978969
    Abstract: In order to enable safe deceleration of a transport unit of a long-stator linear motor, wherein in a normal mode a plurality of drive coils of the long-stator linear motor are energized in such a way that a magnetic field coupled to a transport unit is moved along a direction of motion in order to move the transport unit along the direction of motion, according to the invention a switching to a controlled short-circuit mode is performed during the braking operation of the transport unit, in which at least some of the drive coils are short-circuited at least over a first time interval in said mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Leopold Faschang, Stefan Brucker
  • Patent number: 10594245
    Abstract: Method and device for controlling the electrical variables and/or LLM currents of LLM coils of an LLM stator, the movement of a first transport unit is controlled by an associated first transport controller, the movement of a second transport unit is controlled by an associated second transport controller, and a control unit checks whether the first transport controller intends to specify a first controlled variable for an LLM coil and whether the second transport controller simultaneously intends to specify a second controlled variable to the same LLM coil. In this case, either an additional controlled variable, which is derived from the first controlled variable and/or the second controlled variable using a predetermined function f (Ux=f(Ux?, Ux?), or Ux=f(Ux?) or Ux=f(Ux?)), is specified for the LLM coil, or the coil terminals of the LLM coil (Lx) are short-circuited.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Manuel Plainer, Stefan Brucker, Andreas Weber
  • Publication number: 20190386588
    Abstract: In order to enable safe deceleration of a transport unit of a long-stator linear motor, wherein in a normal mode a plurality of drive coils of the long-stator linear motor are energized in such a way that a magnetic field coupled to a transport unit is moved along a direction of motion in order to move the transport unit along the direction of motion, according to the invention a switching to a controlled short-circuit mode is performed during the braking operation of the transport unit, in which at least some of the drive coils are short-circuited at least over a first time interval in said mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2019
    Publication date: December 19, 2019
    Applicant: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas WEBER, Leopold FASCHANG, Stefan BRUCKER
  • Patent number: 10454355
    Abstract: In a transition of a transport unit of a long stator linear motor from a first control zone to a following second control zone in a movement direction, a first segment control unit is responsible for controlling the movement of the transport unit and the first control zone is extended, in the movement direction, by a number of virtual drive coils. The first segment control unit, which is assigned to the first control zone, calculates manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils, and transmits the manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils to the second segment control unit, which is assigned to the second control zone. The second segment control unit uses the transmitted manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils in order to energize the drive coils of the second control zone for moving the transport unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas Weber, Manuel Plainer, Stefan Brucker
  • Publication number: 20190058432
    Abstract: Method and device for controlling the electrical variables and/or LLM currents of LLM coils of an LLM stator, the movement of a first transport unit is controlled by an associated first transport controller, the movement of a second transport unit is controlled by an associated second transport controller, and a control unit checks whether the first transport controller intends to specify a first controlled variable for an LLM coil and whether the second transport controller simultaneously intends to specify a second controlled variable to the same LLM coil. In this case, either an additional controlled variable, which is derived from the first controlled variable and/or the second controlled variable using a predetermined function f (Ux=f(Ux?, Ux?), or Ux=f(Ux?) or Ux=f(Ux?)), is specified for the LLM coil, or the coil terminals of the LLM coil (Lx) are short-circuited.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2018
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Applicant: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Manuel PLAINER, Stefan BRUCKER, Andreas WEBER
  • Publication number: 20190006930
    Abstract: In a transition of a transport unit of a long stator linear motor from a first control zone to a following second control zone in a movement direction, a first segment control unit is responsible for controlling the movement of the transport unit and the first control zone is extended, in the movement direction, by a number of virtual drive coils. The first segment control unit, which is assigned to the first control zone, calculates manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils, and transmits the manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils to the second segment control unit, which is assigned to the second control zone. The second segment control unit uses the transmitted manipulated variables for the virtual drive coils in order to energize the drive coils of the second control zone for moving the transport unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2018
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Applicant: B&R INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION GMBH
    Inventors: Andreas WEBER, Manuel PLAINER, Stefan BRUCKER