The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 05, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 20, 1999
Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, Evanston, IL (US);
J. Edward Colgate, Evanston, IL (US);
Dave Meer, Skokie, IL (US);
Michael Peshkin, Evanston, IL (US);
Collaborative Motion Control, Inc., Evanston, IL (US);
Abstract
A mechanical apparatus and method for a high performance hoist for raising and lowering a load, and control apparatus and method for controlling the hoist such that its operation is responsive and intuitive for a human operator. The mechanical apparatus provides a reel for winding a cable, a ball-screw for translating the reel, and an encoder on the reel with which the height of the payload may be monitored. Also disclosed is an operator's handle comprising a movable sleeve with a damper as well as a spring to return it to its null position. The control apparatus and method provides for a handle-nulling mode in which the payload height is servo-controlled to follow the displacement of the operator's hand grasping the handle. The control apparatus further provides a float-mode in which the payload height is responsive to the operator's forces applied directly to the payload. Further, a payload mass estimation system is provided such that the mass of the payload can be determined without waiting for a period of time to allow the payload to settle. In addition, a mode-switching algorithm for transparent switching among different control modes is also disclosed.