Path module for a linear motor, modular linear motor system and method to control same
DCFirst Claim
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1. A path module for a linear motor, comprising:
- at least one armature winding;
an amplifier connected to the at least one armature winding; and
a module controller coupled to the amplifier, the module controller being operative to control the amplifier to selectively energize the at least one armature winding based on instructions received from motor controller, the path module being end-to-end connectable to at least one other path module to define a path, each module in the path having a different address so as to facilitate independent control of armature windings in the path.
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Abstract
A path module for a linear motor system includes a controller coupled to one or more amplifiers that are operative to control associated windings in the module. The controller receives control information via a communications link. The controller controls the amplifier based on the received control information so as to selectively energize the associated windings in the module. In one aspect, a plurality of such modules may be connected together to form a path along which one or more stages are moveable according to energization of the windings in the path.
39 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A path module for a linear motor, comprising:
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at least one armature winding;
an amplifier connected to the at least one armature winding; and
a module controller coupled to the amplifier, the module controller being operative to control the amplifier to selectively energize the at least one armature winding based on instructions received from motor controller, the path module being end-to-end connectable to at least one other path module to define a path, each module in the path having a different address so as to facilitate independent control of armature windings in the path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A path module for a linear motor, comprising:
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a plurality of non-interlaced armature windings;
an amplifier connected to the plurality of armature windings; and
a module controller coupled to the amplifier, the module controller being programmed to control the amplifier to selectively energize the plurality of armature windings based on instructions received from a remote motor controller, the path module being end-to-end connectable to at least one other path module to define a path, wherein each armature winding has a unique address to facilitate independent control of each respective armature winding based on instructions from the motor controller addressed to each respective armature winding. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A linear motor system, comprising:
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a plurality of path modules, each of the plurality of path modules comprising;
at least one armature winding;
an amplifier connected to the at least one armature winding; and
a module controller associated with the amplifier and operative to control the amplifier to selectively energize the at least one armature winding based on control instructions via a communication link;
each of the plurality of path modules being connected end-to-end to at least one adjacent path module to define a path;
a stage moveable along the path; and
wherein the module controller of each of the plurality of path modules is operative to receive respective control instructions via the communications link, the module controller of each of the plurality of path modules further being operative to control an associated amplifier to selectively energize the at least one armature winding associated therewith based on the control instructions received by the associated module controller so as to effect movement of the stage along the path. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A path module for a linear motor, comprising:
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field means for providing an electric field;
amplifier means for controlling the electric field provided by the field means; and
control means for selectively controlling the amplifier means based on instructions identifying the field means, the path module being end-to-end connectable to at least one other path module to define a path, whereby each module in the path has a different address so as to facilitate independent control of different field means in the path.
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26. A linear motor system, comprising:
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a plurality of path modules, each path module comprising;
field means for providing an electric field;
amplifier means for controlling the electric field provided by the field means; and
control means for selectively controlling the amplifier means based on instructions identifying the field means;
each of the plurality of path modules being connected end-to-end to at least one adjacent path module to define path;
support means moveable along the path; and
communication means for communicating control information to each of the control means in the linear motor system, each control means being operative to control the respective amplifier means to selectively energize the field means associated therewith based on the control instructions receive by the respective control means so as to control movement of the support means along the path.
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27. A method for controlling a path module in a linear motor system, comprising:
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receiving at a controller of the path module via communications link control instructions from a motor controller;
providing control data to an amplifier of the path module to selectively energize at least one armature winding of the path module based on the control instructions, the control instructions identifying the at least one armature winding; and
receiving encoder data at the motor controller indicative of at least one of movement and position of a stage relative to a path provided by the linear motor system, the control instructions being provided based on the encoder data. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification