US4491777A — Position control of fabricating materials

Claim 1

Independent Claim 151 words

A drive system for positioning a fabricating material in a work station, the combination comprising: stationary stator windings positioned adjacent the fabricating material and being operable when supplied with polyphase current to induce current in the fabricating material producing a force which propels the fabricating material into the work station; a motor drive circuit connected to the stator windings and being operable to supply polyphase current to the stator windings which produce a propelling force having a magnitude that is determined by the magnitude of a command signal; a position sensor for generating a position feedback signal which indicates the motion of the fabricating material; and a position control circuit connected to receive the position feedback signal and being operable in response thereto to generate the command signal to the motor drive circuit, wherein the position control circuit generates a command signal which drives the fabricating material to a commanded position.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 151 words

A drive system for positioning a fabricating material in a work station, the combination comprising: stationary stator windings positioned adjacent the fabricating material and being operable when supplied with polyphase current to induce current in the fabricating material producing a force which propels the fabricating material into the work station; a motor drive circuit connected to the stator windings and being operable to supply polyphase current to the stator windings which produce a propelling force having a magnitude that is determined by the magnitude of a command signal; a position sensor for generating a position feedback signal which indicates the motion of the fabricating material; and a position control circuit connected to receive the position feedback signal and being operable in response thereto to generate the command signal to the motor drive circuit, wherein the position control circuit generates a command signal which drives the fabricating material to a commanded position.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 36 words

The drive system as recited in claim 1 in which the direction of the propelling force on the fabricating material is reversible by changing the polarity of the command signal applied to the motor drive circuit.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 32 words

The drive system as recited in claim 1 in which the magnitude of the command signal generated by the position control circuit is a signal which is indicative of a commanded velocity.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 38 words

The drive system as recited in claim 1 in which the fabricating material is sheet metal and the stationary stator windings are positioned adjacent one surface of the sheet metal at the input side of the work station.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 54 words

The drive system as recited in claim 4 in which the stator windings are disposed in slots formed between teeth which extend across the width of the sheet metal, and in which these teeth form part of a magnetic circuit that directs the magnetic flux generated by the stator windings into the sheet metal.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 65 words

The drive system as recited in claim 4 in which a second stationary stator winding is driven by the motor drive circuit and is positioned adjacent the other surface of the sheet metal substantially opposite the first stationary stator windings, such that the magnetic flux generated by the two stationary stator windings are substantially additive to increase the propelling force induced in the fabricating material.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 38 words

The drive system as recited in claim 1 in which the stationary stator windings completely encircle the fabricating material, and the stationary stator windings are mounted adjacent one another and disposed along a length of the fabricating material.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 23 words

The drive system as recited in claim 7 in which the stationary stator windings are positioned at the input to the work station.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 186 words

A drive system for positioning a fabricating material in a work station, the combination comprising: a position sensor mounted adjacent the fabricating material as it enters the work station and being operable to generate a position feedback signal which indicates the distance which the fabricating material moves; a position control circuit connected to receive the position feedback signal, and being operable in response to the position feedback signal and a velocity profile defined by a stored control program, to generate a velocity signal which indicates the velocity at which the fabricating material is to be moved; a motor drive circuit connected to receive the velocity signal and being operable in response thereto to generate polyphase currents; and a set of stator windings, each stator winding being connected to receive a respective one of the polyphase currents generated by the motor drive circuit and the stator windings being positioned adjacent the fabricating material to produce a moving magnetic field which induces a current in the fabricating material and which thereby produces a force for propelling the fabricating material to a position indicated by said stored control program.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 186 words

A drive system for positioning a fabricating material in a work station, the combination comprising: a position sensor mounted adjacent the fabricating material as it enters the work station and being operable to generate a position feedback signal which indicates the distance which the fabricating material moves; a position control circuit connected to receive the position feedback signal, and being operable in response to the position feedback signal and a velocity profile defined by a stored control program, to generate a velocity signal which indicates the velocity at which the fabricating material is to be moved; a motor drive circuit connected to receive the velocity signal and being operable in response thereto to generate polyphase currents; and a set of stator windings, each stator winding being connected to receive a respective one of the polyphase currents generated by the motor drive circuit and the stator windings being positioned adjacent the fabricating material to produce a moving magnetic field which induces a current in the fabricating material and which thereby produces a force for propelling the fabricating material to a position indicated by said stored control program.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 42 words

The drive system as recited in claim 9 in which the fabricating material is sheet metal and the set of stationary windings are positioned adjacent to one of the surfaces of the sheet metal as it is fed into the work station.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 47 words

The drive system as recited in claim 9 in which each stator winding encircles the fabricating material and the stator windings are positioned adjacent to one another along a portion of the length of the fabricating material as the fabricating material is fed into the work station.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 31 words

The drive system as recited in claim 9 in which the position control circuit includes means for altering the velocity signal to control the acceleration and deceleration of the fabricating material.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 28 words

The drive system as recited in claim 9 in which the motor drive circuit controls the magnitude of the polyphase currents in response to the received velocity signal.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 61 words

The drive system as recited in claim 13 in which the motor drive circuit includes means for sensing the magnitude of the current flowing in the stator windings and to provde a current feedback signal, and in which the motor drive circuit controls the current in the stator windings in response to both the velocity signal and the current feedback signal.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1988-01-01	1988-07-02	1989-01-01	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1992-01-01	1992-07-02	1993-01-01	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1996-01-01	1996-07-02	1997-01-01	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Position control of fabricating materials

Abstract

Inventors

Bibliographic Details

Claims Analysis

References Cited (Backward Citations)

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Assigned Categories & Tags

Assign Category Tag