Method for controlling a control loop having a standardized selection variable

• US 10,133,241 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2015
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG (Trumpf GmbH + Company KG)
• Original Assignee: TRUMPF Hüttinger GmbH + Co. KG (Trumpf GmbH + Company KG)
• Inventors: vor dem Brocke, Manuel, Fecker, Sebastian, Bock, Christian
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Kenneth M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Erdman, Chad G
• Application Number:
  US14/874,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20160026158A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/42 for obtaining a characteristic which is both proportional and time-dependent, e.g. P. I., P. I. D.
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 5/01 electric

Abstract

Various methods and systems control the power of a process power supply by a control circuit with a controller and several control channels, wherein each control channel comprises an actual value and a target value of a control variable. The systems and methods specify target values of the control variables, determine the actual values of the control variables, determine a selected control channel with the assistance of a selection variable dependent upon the actual value, determine a selected control difference from the target value and the actual value of the selected control channel, and control the control loop with the selected control difference of the selected control channel.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a control loop for controlling a power of a process power supply, via a control circuit with a controller and a plurality of control channels, wherein each control channel comprises an actual value and a target value of a control variable, wherein the plurality of control channels represent actual and target values for at least two variables selected from a group of variables comprising:

forward power, reverse power, and power at a load, respectively, the method comprising;

specifying the target values of the control variables;

determining the actual values of the control variables;

determining a selected control channel from the plurality of control channels based on a selection variable dependent upon the actual values;

determining a selected control difference from a target value and an actual value of the selected control channel;

controlling the control loop and each control channel with the selected control difference of the selected control channel; and

controlling the power supply with the control loop,

wherein the selection variable is normalized for at least one of the control channels to the target value of the corresponding control channel to form a normalized selection variable and wherein determining the selected control channel comprises determining the selected control channel from the plurality of control channels on the basis of a comparison of the normalized selection variable with at least one further similar normalized variable of one of the other control channels.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the normalization is implemented by dividing the selection variable by the target value of the corresponding control channel.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the normalized selection variable is determined for at least two control channels, and wherein the control channel with the maximal or minimal normalized selection variable is determined as the selected channel.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the control difference serves as the selection variable, and the determination of the selected control channel is implemented by determining the smallest normalized control difference.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the actual value serves as the selection variable, and the determination of the selected control channel is implemented by determining the largest normalized actual value.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the forward power, the reverse power and the power delivered to a load of a process power supply serve as control variables.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is used as controller.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein all control variables are influenced via a single adjustment value.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein different matched control amplifications are provided for different control channels, wherein the matched controller amplifications for the individual control channels are selected in such a manner that all channels comprise the same settling time.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the controller amplification and/or the adjustment value and/or the selected control difference is multiplied by a corresponding amplification factor.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the amplification factor is determined by dividing the actual value of a first control variable by the actual value of the control variable of the selected control channel.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein at least one further matched amplification factor is approximated.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the measurement of the actual values and determination of at least one amplification factor is implemented continuously.

14. A control circuit apparatus comprising:

a control loop for controlling the power of a process power supply,

a plurality of control channels, wherein each control channel comprises an actual value and a target value of a control variable, wherein the plurality of control channels represent actual and target values for at least two variables selected from a group of variables comprising;

forward power, reverse power, and power at a load, respectively; and

a processor system configured to control the control loop for controlling the power of the process power supply, the processor system configured to control the control loop by;

specifying the target values of the control variables,

determining the actual values of the control variables,

determining a selected control channel from the plurality of control channels based on a selection variable dependent upon the actual values,

determining a selected control difference from a target value and an actual value of the selected control channel,

controlling the control loop and each control channel with the selected control difference of the selected control channel, and

controlling the power supply with the control loop,

wherein the selection variable is normalized for at least one control channel of the plurality of control channels to a target value of the at least one control channel to form a normalized selection variable and wherein determining the selected control channel includes determining the selected control channel from the plurality of control channels on the basis of a comparison of the normalized selection variable with at least one further similar normalized variable of one of the other control channels.

15. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein each control channel comprises an adding element which is designed to determine a control difference from the actual value and target value of the control channel.

16. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein each control channel comprises a dividing element which is designed to determine a normalized control difference from the actual value and target value of the control channel.

17. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processor system is configured to designed to determine a control channel as the selected control channel by comparing several normalized control differences.

18. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processor system is configured to drive a multiplexer device which, for its part, is designed to supply the control difference of the selected control channel to a controller.

19. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit further comprises a dividing element which is designed to determine an amplification factor from two actual values by division.

20. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit further comprises a multiplication element which is designed to multiply the amplification factor by an adjustment value determined by the controller and/or a control difference, especially the selected control difference.

21. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit further comprises a PI controller.

22. The control circuit apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control circuit further comprises a controller which is embodied as a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).