Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
An open-loop system for controlling a plant, comprising: actuation means for providing an actuating signal, said actuation means comprising: sense means for sensing a condition that a plant is to respond and for providing a continuous sense signal representative of said sensed condition, and sample means for periodically sampling said sense signal at a predetermined sampling interval and for providing said actuating signal as a series of impulse signals corresponding to the samples of said sense signal; and control means responsive to said actuating signal for providing a control signal to the plant in accordance with a control function defined by a control algorithm based upon a calculated response of a plant in an equivalent closed-loop linear control system, said control means comprising a computer for providing said control signal as a function of time following the application of each impulse signal thereto.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
An open-loop system for controlling a plant, comprising: actuation means for providing an actuating signal, said actuation means comprising: sense means for sensing a condition that a plant is to respond and for providing a continuous sense signal representative of said sensed condition, and sample means for periodically sampling said sense signal at a predetermined sampling interval and for providing said actuating signal as a series of impulse signals corresponding to the samples of said sense signal; and control means responsive to said actuating signal for providing a control signal to the plant in accordance with a control function defined by a control algorithm based upon a calculated response of a plant in an equivalent closed-loop linear control system, said control means comprising a computer for providing said control signal as a function of time following the application of each impulse signal thereto.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein the control algorithm is a time-domain algorithm based upon an inverse LaPlace transform of the equivalent closed-loop system.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
57 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined sampling interval is on the order of the time constant of the equivalent system; and wherein the computation speed of the computer is sufficiently fast in relation to the sampling rate to provide a control signal that is effectively continuous relative to the operating dynamics of the plant.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein the sense signal corresponds to an error in the response of the open-loop system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein the actuating signal is representative of an input signal to an equivalent closed-loop linear control system having multiple feedback paths.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
A system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined sampling interval is on the order of the time constant of the equivalent system, and wherein the computation speed of the computer is sufficiently fast in relation to the sampling rate to provide a control signal that is effectively continuous relative to the operating dynamics of the plant.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
A system according to claim 6, wherein the sense signal corresponds to an error in the response of the open-loop system.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system according to claim 7, wherein the actuating signal is representative of an input signal to an equivalent closed-loop linear control system having multiple feedback paths.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
123 words
An open-loop method for controlling a plant, comprising the steps of: (a) sensing a condition that a plant is to respond to; (b) providing a continuous sense signal representative of said sensed condition; (c) periodically sampling the sense signal at a predetermined sampling interval; (d) providing an actuating signal comprised of a series of impulse signals corresponding to the samples of the sense signal; and (e) providing a control signal in response to said actuating signal to operate a plant in accordance with a control function defined by a control algorighm based upon a calculated response of a plant in an equivalent closed-loop linear control system, said control signal being provided as a functin of time following the application of each impulse signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
123 words
An open-loop method for controlling a plant, comprising the steps of: (a) sensing a condition that a plant is to respond to; (b) providing a continuous sense signal representative of said sensed condition; (c) periodically sampling the sense signal at a predetermined sampling interval; (d) providing an actuating signal comprised of a series of impulse signals corresponding to the samples of the sense signal; and (e) providing a control signal in response to said actuating signal to operate a plant in accordance with a control function defined by a control algorighm based upon a calculated response of a plant in an equivalent closed-loop linear control system, said control signal being provided as a functin of time following the application of each impulse signal.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein the control algorithm is a time-domain algorithm based upon an inverse LaPlace transform of the equivalent closed-loop system.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined sampling interval in step (c) is on the order of the time constant of the equivalent system; and wherein step (e) further comprises the step of (f) computing the control signal sufficiently fast in relation to the sampling rate to provide a control signal that is effectively continuous relative to the operating dynamics of the plant.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein the sense signal provided in step (b) corresponds to an error in the response of the open-loop system.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein the actuating signal of step (d) is representative of an input signal to an equivalent closed-loop linear control system having multiple feedback paths.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined sampling interval in step (c) is on the order of the time constant of the equivalent system; and wherein step (e) further comprises the step of (f) computing the control signal sufficiently fast in relation to the sampling rate to provide a control signal that is effectively continuous relatiive to the operating dynamics of the plant.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 14, wherein the sense signal provided in step (b) corresponds to an error in the response of the open-loop system.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method according to claim 15, wherein the actuating signal of step (d) is representative of an input signal to an equivalent closed-loop linear control system having multiple feedback paths.