Kollmorgen Corporation

Motion Engineering Incorporated

Rotork Controls Limited

Robert Pearce

George Borkey Yundt

David Cline

Judy Anne Mitchell

Boris Semenov

Christian Rolf Jakschies

Kerim Feiler

Daniel Kouba

Lars Lindner

Michael Capelle

Lee Gray

Sergio Maggioni

Silvio Dus

Graham M Ogden

Networked automation systems having electric actuation from a high voltage source. The electric actuator includes a switch mode power supply coupled to the high voltage source as a principal power source. The networked automation systems include a controller device having an output network port wired to an input network port of the motor drive. The controller device is also coupled to an auxiliary source of power. Thus, a regulation circuit of the switch mode power supply can be coupled to the auxiliary source of power, thereby providing power for the regulation circuit at start up.

Networked automation system for start-up of a switch mode power supply

A power control system is provided for AC mains, including an input bridge rectifier connected to the AC power mains, and a buck regulator circuit connected to the DC output of the input bridge rectifier, the output of the buck regulator circuit providing a DC power output bus. A current sensor is connected to the output of the buck regulator circuit, and one or more capacitors is connected across the DC power output bus for receiving current from the buck regulator circuit. The buck regulator circuit is controlled to limit peak output current thereof.

DC current regulator with supercapacitor

An electric motor drive system is provided wherein safety is achieved by commanding the process system of the relevant axis or set of axes to execute motion that follows a defined path, namely trajectory of position, velocity and acceleration against time, re-constructing an identical trajectory in the safety system and in, the safety system, supervising deviations between the safely reconstructed target position and the safe measurement of position.

Method and apparatus for safely limiting the motion of a motor

A torque-limiting safety circuit servo drive for AC permanent magnet motors including a three-phase inverter bridge, a first current sensor in series with a first motor phase, a second current sensor in series with a second motor phase, a third current sensor in series with the DC bus, and a drive control circuit that controls the six pulse-width modulated gate drive signals for the three-phase inverter bridge. The drive circuit has first and second safety channel STO inputs whereby either channel can shut down the three-phase inverter bridge, emits a signal set to represent the switching state of the three-phase inverter bridge, and modifies the switching pattern of the PWM to ensure the dwell times of PWM is sufficiently long to allow a valid measurement of phase current using the bus current sensor. First and second safety processors controls the first and second safety channel STO inputs, respectively.

Method and apparatus for the safe limitation of motor torque in a three-phase drive

An over-voltage comparator and shutdown circuit for a power converter, comprising at least a first voltage divider connected between ground and a monitored voltage, the voltage divider including a first resistor and a second resistor, a switch mode regulator connected to a primary switch of the power converter, and a first threshold comparator, wherein a monitored input of the first threshold comparator is connected between the first resistor and the second resistor, an anode of the first threshold comparator is connected to ground, and a cathode of the first threshold comparator is connected to the switch mode regulator, and wherein the monitored voltage is voltage at an end of a primary winding of the power converter. An auxiliary output circuit of the power converter may be provided having a first output providing the monitored voltage and a second output providing power to the switch mode regulator.

Method and apparatus for limiting the output voltages of switch mode power supplies

A device for communicating and providing power over a cable having at least two conductors comprises an inductor having two secondary windings and one primary winding, and a transceiver coupled to the primary winding of the inductor, the two secondary windings of the inductors being coupled to two of the at least two conductors of the cable. Further, a voltage signal provided by the secondary windings of the inductors to the conductors varies symmetrically from an average potential. The inductor of the device can also comprise two primary windings connected in series and two secondary windings connected in series, the secondary windings also connected to two of the at least two conductors in the cable, wherein the voltage signal provided to the two conductors from the secondary windings varies symmetrically from an average potential.

System and method for improved DC power line communication

A control circuit configured to control an electromechanical brake is provided. The control circuit includes: a switching regulator configured to control a magnitude of voltage applied to a brake coil of the electromechanical brake; wherein said switching regulator includes at least one semiconductor switch, one diode, one capacitor and one inductor; the control circuit is configured such that, in operation, at least one signal from a process sub-system specifies the magnitude of the voltage for the brake coil; and at least one brake applying control signal from a safety sub-system can cause the brake coil voltage to be reduced to a level low enough to apply the brake by opening a switch and each brake applying control signal from the safety sub-system has a corresponding diagnostic feedback signal to the safety sub-system that indicates the state of the corresponding switch. A method and a system are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for power-saving, fail-safe control of an electromechanical brake

A device for communicating and providing power over a cable having at least two conductors comprises a first inductor having a primary and a secondary winding, a second inductor having a primary and a secondary winding, the primary winding of the second inductor being coupled at one end to the primary winding of the first inductor, each of the secondary windings of the first and second inductors being coupled to one of the at least two conductors in the cable. The device further includes a transceiver coupled to the primary windings of the first and second inductors, wherein the first inductor is coupled to local ground potential, in a manner that varies the potential of each of the said conductors symmetrically from an average potential.

Systems and methods of supporting communications over a common network connection in a master-slave field bus network with a first type of packet formatted with a time-sensitive protocol and a second type of packet formatted with a non-time-sensitive protocol are provided. The slave devices are configured with filters to prevent the first type of packet from reaching a configurator and the second type from reaching a master device. The slave devices are also configured with arbitration logic so that the packets formatted with the time-sensitive protocol are provided with a priority over the packets formatted with the non-time-sensitive protocol.

Systems and methods for supporting two different protocols on a same physical connection

Systems and methods for providing Safe Torque Off signals using communication wires used for control signaling. Single channel Safe Torque Off signals can be provided as a DC voltage or AC voltage across two sets of twisted pair wires. Alternatively, two Safe Torque Off signals can be provided using both a DC voltage and an AC voltage across the two sets of twisted pair wires.

Safe torque off over network wiring

An interpolator for a system, such as a motion control system, where a stream of values of at least a first command signal is communicated across a communications medium according to a predefined update rate. The integrator is configured to calculate at a higher rate relative to the update rate to generate at least one interpolated prediction of the first command signal.

Interpolator for a networked motion control system

A method and system for adding a node into a network operating in a cyclic state after one or more nodes have been previously removed without interrupting the synchronous traffic of the remaining nodes on the network is provided. The method includes discovering an added node by sending data to the added node in a downstream timeslot previously assigned to a removed node, the data having a delay value for scheduling a response from the added node to coincide with an upstream timeslot previously assigned to the removed node, thereby avoiding collisions with the synchronous traffic on the network; receiving the response from the added node; configuring the added node in accordance with an original configuration of the removed node; and commencing cyclic operation of the added node.

Method and system for removing and returning nodes in a synchronous network

An improved system, method, and computer-readable instructions for scheduling, transporting, and receiving inbound packets efficiently in networks with cyclic packet scheduling is provided. The method provides for scheduling upstream packet transmission slots for each node in the network so that the spacing between the packet transmission slots is reduced; for each node in the network, if there is a locally originated packet of the node to be transmitted upstream, selectively activating a forwarding buffer to receive and temporarily store a packet received from a neighboring downstream node during upstream transmission of a locally originated packet of the node; and upon completion of the upstream transmission of the locally originated packet, transmitting upstream the packet stored in the forwarding buffer.

Method and system for scheduling, transporting, and receiving inbound packets efficiently in networks with cyclic packet scheduling

A motion control system and method that includes a central controller configured to generate first and second demand control signals to be used to define actuation motion of respective first and second actuators. The central controller is in communication with first and second nodes by way of a data network, each node including at least a respective actuator configured to implement at an actuator time a motion or force-related effort based upon the respective demand control signal. Each node also includes a memory configured to store at least one respective propagation delay parameter related to a signal propagation delay between the central controller and the node. A timing mechanism establishes timing at each node based on the respective propagation delay parameter so that the actuator time at the nodes occurs simultaneously. Strictly cyclic and/or full-duplex high-speed communication can be supported. The network can be wired in a ring or as a tree and with twisted pair cabling or fiber. The central controller issues demand signals to the nodes that are actuator, servo motor drive, and/or I/O devices. The central controller can also provide a timing message that is used by the nodes, in conjunction with local delay correction circuitry, so that the simultaneous acquisition of data and the simultaneous implementation of controlled action occur.

System for motion control, method of using the system for motion control, and computer readable instructions for use with the system for motion control

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Bristol, United Kingdom

Robert Pearce