Identifying and compensating force-ripple and side-forces produced by linear actuators
First Claim
1. A method for operating a commutated actuator, comprising:
- determining a set of commutation equations that substantially provide desired forces for the actuator in one or more directions;
generating a map of actual forces produced by the actuator in the one or more directions in proportion to coefficients of the commutation equations;
calculating corrected commutation coefficients determined from the desired forces and the map of actual forces; and
applying electrical current to the actuator using the commutation equations with the corrected coefficients.
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Abstract
Methods are disclosed for operating at least one commutated actuator (generally termed a “linear actuator”) while compensating for error-inducing phenomena such as force-ripple and side-force. An exemplary method includes determining a set of commutation equations that substantially provide desired forces for the actuator in one or more directions. A map is generated of actual forces produced by the actuator in the one or more directions in proportion to coefficients of the commutation equations. Corrected commutation coefficients are determined from the desired forces and the map of actual forces. Electrical current is applied to the actuator using the commutation equations with the corrected coefficients. The methods are applicable to actuators having one degree of freedom (DOF) of motion or multi-DOF actuators, and are applicable to actuators that run on single-phase power or multi-phase power.
39 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for operating a commutated actuator, comprising:
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determining a set of commutation equations that substantially provide desired forces for the actuator in one or more directions;
generating a map of actual forces produced by the actuator in the one or more directions in proportion to coefficients of the commutation equations;
calculating corrected commutation coefficients determined from the desired forces and the map of actual forces; and
applying electrical current to the actuator using the commutation equations with the corrected coefficients. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for controllably operating a linear actuator, comprising:
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producing a set of commutation force-commands for displacing a mover of the actuator;
commutating the mover along at least a first direction according to the commutation force-commands;
determining at least one force constant for the linear actuator being commutated according to the commutation force-commands, the at least one force constant relating, at least in part, position-dependent force variations to one or more of the commutation force-commands;
modulating the commutation force-commands according to the at least one force constant to produce modulated force-commands that compensate for position-dependent force variations along the first direction and for position-dependent force variations in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; and
driving the linear actuator according to the modulated force-commands. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for controllably operating a linear actuator, comprising:
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selecting multiple commutation equations for the linear actuator, including a first commutation equation for movement of the actuator along a first axis, and a second commutation equation for movement of the actuator along a second axis;
determining respective maps of position-dependent forces produced while commutating the linear actuator along the first axis according to the first commutation equation, the forces including a force along the force axis and a force along the second axis;
determining, from the maps, respective position-dependent influence functions;
from the influence functions, determining respective compensating force-commands;
determining position-dependent compensation currents to produce desired forces along the first axis and desired forces along the second axis; and
driving the linear actuator using the position-dependent compensation currents. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A method for controllably operating a multi-DOF linear actuator, comprising:
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selecting multiple commutation force-commands for the actuator, including a first commutation force-command being for movement of the linear actuator along a first axis and a second commutation force-command being for movement of the linear actuator along a second axis that is orthogonal to the first axis;
commutating the linear actuator according to the first and second force commands;
determining respective maps of position-dependent forces produced while commutating the linear actuator along the first and second axes, the forces including an output force along the first axis and an output force along the second axis;
determining, from the maps, respective force coefficients for multiple positions of the linear actuator along the first axis and second axis;
defining corrected commutation currents from the force coefficients; and
driving the actuator using the corrected commutation currents.
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25. A method for controlling operation of a multi-DOF linear actuator including at least a primary magnet-coil array and a secondary magnet-coil array, the method comprising:
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directing a force-command to the primary magnet-coil array to drive the linear actuator using the primary magnet-coil array;
causing the actuator to produce a resultant force including compensations for position-dependent force variations along a first axis and compensations for position-dependent force variations along a second axis orthogonal to the first axis; and
modulating a force-command to the secondary magnet-coil array to produce a force substantially along the second axis that is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to a side-force resulting, at least in part, from the force-command to the primary magnet-coil array, to produce a force substantially along the first axis.
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26. With respect to a selected at least one linear actuator in a set of actuators, a method for producing a predetermined force constant for compensation of at least one of force-ripple and side-force relative to a stroke-direction of the selected at least one actuator, the method comprising:
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supplying a first commutation force-command directed to the selected at least one actuator to displace the selected at least one actuator through a first trajectory substantially along a first axis;
determining a component of a first resultant force of the selected at least one actuator in a direction along the principal axis and a component of the first resultant force along a second axis, that is orthogonal to the first axis, at each of a plurality of locations along the first axis;
supplying a second commutation force-command directed to the actuator to displace the linear actuator through a second trajectory, the second commutation force-command being linearly independent of the first commutation force-command;
determining a component of the second resultant force of the actuator along the first axis and a component of the second force of the actuator along the second axis at each of the plurality of locations;
determining, for each location, multiple force coefficients, including a first force coefficient relating the influence of the first commutation force-command to the force component of the actuator along the first axis;
a second force coefficient relating the influence of the first commutation force-command to the force component of the actuator along the second axis;
a third force coefficient relating the influence of the second commutation force-command to the force component of the actuator along the first axis; and
a fourth force coefficient relating the influence of the second commutation force-command to the force component of the actuator along the second axis. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A commutated actuator system, comprising:
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an actuator comprising a stator and a moving member magnetically coupled to the stator;
a driver coupled to one of the stator and moving member, the driver being configured to energized the one of the stator and moving member to which the driver is coupled, to cause movement of the moving member relative to the stator in one or more directions; and
a processor coupled to the driver, the processor being programmed with (a) corrected commutation equations by which forces are provided to the actuator for moving the moving member in a desired at least one direction, and (b) a calculation routine that, from a map of actual forces produced by the actuator in one or more directions and in proportion to coefficients of the commutation equations, calculates the corrected commutation coefficients for delivery to the driver. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification