Actuator control apparatus

• US 20060198737A1
• Filed: 03/03/2005
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nabtesco Aerospace, Inc. (Nabtesco Corporation), Nabtesco Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nabtesco Aerospace, Inc. (Nabtesco Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Gen, Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi, Tanaka, Teruaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,789,345 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 417/212
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/048 Monitoring; Safety
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/07 where the programme is defined in the fixed connection of electrical elements, e.g. potentiometers, counters, transistors
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/21109 Field programmable gate array, fpga as I-O module
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23265 Select device driver for actuator, sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25268 PLD programmable logic device
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25316 Control unit and actuator in one unit, module
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 9/03 with multiple-channel loop, i.e. redundant control systems

Abstract

Herein disclosed is an actuator control apparatus, comprising primary control means for producing a control signal used to control an operation of an actuator in accordance with an instruction signal indicative of an operation of the actuator, secondary control means for producing a control signal in accordance with the instruction signal; and switching means for selectively switching one of the primary control means and the secondary control means to the other, and in which the secondary control means is less in the number of functions than the primary control means, and each of components constituting the secondary control means is easier in fault verification than a component constituting the primary control means the most difficult in fault verification among all of components constituting the primary control means.

Claims

1. An actuator control apparatus, comprising:

primary control means for producing a control signal used to control an actuator in accordance with an instruction signal indicative of an operation of said actuator;

secondary control means for producing a control signal in accordance with said instruction signal; and

switching means for selectively switching one of said primary control means and said secondary control means to the other; and

in which

said secondary control means is less in the number of functions than said primary control means, and each of components constituting said secondary control means is easier in fault verification than a component constituting said primary control means the most difficult in fault verification among all of components constituting said primary control means.

2. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which

said primary control means includes at least one of FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a computer having stored therein a program and operative to execute said program, and

said secondary control means is merely constituted by one of or both of analog circuit and PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

3. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises:

slave instruction means for having an external load drive said actuator in the event that said actuator fails to operate in accordance with said instruction signal.

4. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which

each of components constituting said secondary control means is easier in fault verification than a component constituting said slave instruction means the most difficult in fault verification among all of components constituting said slave instruction means.

5. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which

each of said primary control means and said slave instruction means includes at least one of FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and a computer having stored therein a program and operative to execute said program, and

said secondary control means is merely constituted by one of or both of analog circuit and PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

6. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises:

feedback signal utilizing means for producing said control signal on the basis of a feedback signal supplied from said actuator, and in which

said primary control means and said secondary control means share said feedback signal utilizing means.

7. An actuator control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises:

operation control means for controlling said switching means to have said switching means switch said primary control means to said secondary control means in the event that said actuator fails to operate in accordance with said instruction signal under control of said primary control means.

8. An actuator unit, comprising:

an actuator; and

an actuator control apparatus integrally formed with said actuator, and operative to control said actuator, and in which

said actuator control apparatus includes;

primary control means for producing a control signal used to control an actuator in accordance with an instruction signal indicative of an operation of said actuator;

secondary control means for producing a control signal in accordance with said instruction signal; and

switching means for selectively switching one of said primary control means and said secondary control means to the other; and

in which

said secondary control means is less in the number of functions than said primary control means, and each of components constituting said secondary control means is easier in fault verification than a component constituting said primary control means the most difficult in fault verification among all of components constituting said primary control means.

9. An actuator control system, comprising:

a plurality of actuator control apparatuses for controlling respective actuators; and

main control apparatus for controlling said actuator control apparatuses, and in which

each of said actuator control apparatuses includes;

primary control means for producing a control signal used to control an actuator in accordance with an instruction signal indicative of an operation of said actuator;

secondary control means for producing a control signal in accordance with said instruction signal; and

switching means for selectively switching one of said primary control means and said secondary control means to the other; and

in which

said secondary control means is less in the number of functions than said primary control means, and each of components constituting said secondary control means is easier in fault verification than a component constituting said primary control means the most difficult in fault verification among all of components constituting said primary control means, and

said main control apparatus is operative to have said switching means of at least one of said actuator control apparatuses switch said primary control means to said secondary control means in the event that a predetermined number is exceeded by the number of actuators failing to operate in accordance with said instruction signal under control of said primary control means.