Unitary transducer control system
First Claim
1. In a control system for controlling the motion of a physical subject, the combination comprising:
- a unitary transducer adapted to be coupled to the physical subject, the transducer being arranged to provide a sensing output signal in accordance with the motion of the subject and to effect a change in said motion in accordance with an actuating signal applied thereto; and
a controller coupled to the transducer, the controller being programmed to respond to the sensing output signal during a sensing time channel portion of successive time frames and apply an actuating signal to the transducer during a separate actuating time channel of the time frames, whereby the sensing and actuating functions of the transducer are separated in time, the rate of occurrence of successive time frames being independent of the motion of the subject.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A control system controls the motion of a physical subject such as a mechanical system to damp or enhance the motion via a single transducer which alternates in a time-discrete manner between the task of reading a signal indicative of the state of the subject and the task of influencing said state by the application of a force. Control of motion or vibration is achieved through a series of actuating pulses interleaved with sensing operations. The same single transducer alternately acts as input to the control system from the subject and output from the control system to the subject. The control system provides full and individual control of all important harmonic modes of vibration of a subject mechanical system.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. In a control system for controlling the motion of a physical subject, the combination comprising:
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a unitary transducer adapted to be coupled to the physical subject, the transducer being arranged to provide a sensing output signal in accordance with the motion of the subject and to effect a change in said motion in accordance with an actuating signal applied thereto; and
a controller coupled to the transducer, the controller being programmed to respond to the sensing output signal during a sensing time channel portion of successive time frames and apply an actuating signal to the transducer during a separate actuating time channel of the time frames, whereby the sensing and actuating functions of the transducer are separated in time, the rate of occurrence of successive time frames being independent of the motion of the subject. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a control system for controlling the motion of a physical subject, the combination comprising:
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a unitary transducer having a sensor/actuator circuit, the transducer being adapted to be coupled to the physical subject for providing a sensing output signal on the sensor/actuator circuit in accordance with the motion of the subject and for effecting a change in the motion of the subject in accordance with an actuating input signal applied to the sensor/actuator circuit;
a controller coupled to the transducer sensor/actuator circuit, the controller being arranged to respond to sensing output signal during a first or sensing portion of a time frame and to apply an actuating input signal to transducer during a second or actuating portion of the time frame for the purpose of separating and isolating sensing events from actuating events in time and for selectively damping or enhancing the motion of the subject over a succession of said time frames. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
a reference input for receiving the reference signal;
means for processing the transducer sensing output signal according to the reference signal to produce a correction signal and applying the correction signal, as the actuating input signal to the sensor/actuating circuit to control the actuating force emitted by the transducer during the actuating time interval whereby the subject is constrained to conform to the motion dictated by the reference signal.
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18. The control system of claim 17 further including a source of an excitation signal coupled to the controller for providing an excitation signal to the transducer sensor/actuator circuit independently of the correction signal, whereby the motion or position of the subject can be directly influenced.
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19. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller includes a sample and hold circuit for sampling the transducer sensing output signal and retaining said signal for a preselected time period.
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20. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller includes an analog to digital convertor for sampling and retaining the transducer sensing output signal and converting it to digital form for further processing by the controller.
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21. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller is arranged to apply the actuating signal to the transducer in the form of an amplitude modulated signal during the actuation portion of said time frames.
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22. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller is arranged to apply the actuating signal to the transducer in the form of a pulse width modulated signal during the actuation portion of said time frame.
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23. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller is arranged to apply the actuating signal to the transducer in the form of a combined amplitude and pulse width modulated signal.
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24. The control system of claim 14 wherein the actuating signal applied to the transducer is in the form of a current emanating from a high impedance source.
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25. The control system of claim 14 wherein the control system is arranged to provide the actuating signal in the form of a voltage from a low impedance source.
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26. The control system of claim 17 wherein the actuating signal is a current pulse in the shape of a smooth curve that begins and ends at zero and is amplitude and polarity modulated by the correction signal over a succession of frames.
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27. The control system of claim 15 wherein the transducer sensor/actuator circuit comprises a single winding for providing the sensing output signal and for receiving the actuating signal.
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28. The control system of claim 15 wherein the transducer sensor/actuator circuit comprises separate sensor and actuating windings.
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29. The control system of claim 15 wherein the subject includes the transducer sensor/actuator circuit.
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30. The control system of claim 15 wherein the subject includes part or parts of the electromagnetic transducer other than the winding.
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31. The control system of claim 16 wherein the transducer sensor/actuator circuit comprises a single pair of electrodes.
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32. The control system of claim 16 wherein the transducer sensor/actuator circuit comprises separate sensing and actuating electrodes or electrode pairs.
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33. The control system of claim 16 wherein the subject and transducer form one element.
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34. The control system of claim 14 wherein the controller is arranged to vary the duration of the individual time frames making up said successive time frames.
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35. In a method for controlling the motion of a physical subject in accordance with the motion prescribed by a reference signal, the combination comprising:
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a transducer coupled to the physical subject, the transducer having a sensor/actuator circuit which provides a sensing output signal during a sensing portion of a single time frame representative of the motion of the physical subject and in response to an actuating input signal applied to the sensor/actuator circuit during a separate actuating portion of said time frame provides an actuating force to the physical subject;
comparing the transducer sensor output signal with the reference signal to provide an error signal; and
processing the sensor output signal as a function of the error signal to create a correction signal; and
modulating with the correction signal to form the actuating signal; and
applying the actuating signal to the transducer sensor/actuator circuit during the actuating portion of said time frame. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
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Specification