159results about "Arrangements for smooth engagement/disengagement" patented technology

An irrigation control system for land comprising: (a) at least one meter to measure one or more wheather conditions in a first area; (b) at least one monitor to (i) examine rainfall data derived from a radar scanning at least the first area according to predetermined criteria and (ii) to extract data which is representative of the scanned rainfall in a sub-area of the first area; (c) a store to store the extracted data; and (d) a controller connected directly or indirectly to the meter and the monitor and to the store, to calculate a moisture content value for the sub-area and a predetermined moisture content value for the sub-area, and to regulate the irrigation in a sub-area.

A mechanism for retrofitting a turret that has a manual rotation system with a motorized turret rotation system includes a gear box mechanically coupled to the turret, an electrically powered prime mover unit mechanically coupled to the gear box, a user operated control device electrically coupled to the prime mover unit, and an electrical power supply electrically coupled to the prime mover unit. The turret rotates relative to a body structure. The gear box and the prime mover unit are mounted to the body structure. The control device and the electrical power supply are positioned on the turret. The power supply provides electrical power to the prime mover. The control device presents a control signal to the prime mover when the user actuates the control device, and the turret rotates in response to the control signal.

The invention relates to a mode switching method and device and belongs to the field of automatic control. The method comprises the steps that whether a user is in a sleep state or not is detected; if the user is in a sleep state, a current operation mode is switched to a mute mode; operation is performed in a mute mode. According to the mode switching method and device, the current operation mode is switched to the mute mode through automatic control; the problems that the process of adjusting a household appliance to a mute mode through a remote controller or by hand is still manual control, and the operation process is complicated are solved; the effects of simplifying the mode switching process and automatically controlling mute mode operation are achieved.

The controller determines the presence or absence of operation of the trigger switch according to an ON / OFF state of the main contact of the trigger switch and designating the rotation speed of the motor based on a signal outputted from the speed contact. The controller stops the rotation of the motor, after the trigger switch is activated and the main contact is turned ON and the motor is driven according to a signal outputted from the speed contact, when an OFF state of the main contact is detected, only in the case where a signal value outputted from the speed contact is a predetermined value or less.

A controller design for switching between m linear multivariable controllers each of whom stabilizes a linear plant has been presented. A Youla-Kucera factorization was exploited in the interest of obtaining a closed-loop system that is exponentially stable for any switching signal σ(t) in the absence of plant model uncertainty. Robustness to practical model uncertainty was also considered and lower and upper bounds on the tolerable magnitude of unstructured additive plant uncertainty were presented. Numerical example demonstrated that the two controller degrees of freedom in the proposed controller design could be used to separately modify the closed-loop steady-state (with respect to σ(t)) performance and the switching transients.

A controller design for switching between m linear multivariable controllers each of whom stabilizes a linear plant has been presented. A Youla-Kucera factorization was exploited in the interest of obtaining a closed-loop system that is exponentially stable for any switching signal σ(t) in the absence of plant model uncertainty. Robustness to practical model uncertainty was also considered and lower and upper bounds on the tolerable magnitude of unstructured additive plant uncertainty were presented. Numerical example demonstrated that the two controller degrees of freedom in the proposed controller design could be used to separately modify the closed-loop steady-state (with respect to σ(t)) performance and the switching transients.

A water irrigation system may include a computer system, a sensing unit, an irrigation controller, and / or a water delivery system. The sensing unit may include a solar panel. Electricity produced by the solar panel may be supplied to the sensing unit. The sensing unit may assess climatological conditions in or near a zone to be irrigated. The sensing unit may be elevated at least 2 meters above the computer system. The sensing unit may communicate wirelessly with the computer system to provide output that is a function of the assessed climatological conditions to the computer system. The computer system may control irrigation of a zone to be irrigated at least partially based on the output from the sensing unit. A method of controlling irrigation may include allowing the computer system to control irrigation of a zone to be irrigated at least partially based on the assessed climatological conditions.

A shift reaction section 32 is designed to have a maximum capacity of about 40% of the maximum capacity of reforming section 30. When hydrogen-rich gas is supplied to the shift reaction section 32 in excess of its maximum capacity, a blower 46 supplies air to the hydrogen-rich gas in an amount corresponding to the supply of hydrogen-rich gas, and oxidation reaction of carbon monoxide is performed in addition to the shift reaction. By controlling the amount of air supplied, the carbon monoxide concentration at the exit of the shift reaction section 32 is maintained at a concentration less than a predetermined value. As a result, a fuel reformer 20 can be made compact, and at the same time, the energy required to increase the temperature at the time of start up can be reduced.

A dynamically balanced pneumatic relay amplifier and a current-to-pneumatic converter are disclosed. The relay has a balance plug, a supply plug positioned on top of the balance plug, a bead chain connecting the balance plug and the supply plug, and a vent plug positioned on top of the supply plug. The relay also includes a baffle positioned on top of the vent plug. The converter, used in an electro-pneumatic positioner, comprises a flat strip made of magnetic material located in proximity to a nozzle, and a flow regulator having a flat spring securing a plug in a seat within the regulator. The converter also includes a cantilevered flexure integrally secured to a molded spring support, a first bias spring positioned on a first side of the flexure, and a second bias spring positioned on a second side of the flexure. The thickness of the flexure is locally reduced in an area not integrated into the molded spring support.

A system and method for implementing an indirect controller for a plant. A plant can be provided with both a direct controller and an indirect controller with a system model or a committee of system models. When the system model has sufficient integrity to satisfy the plant requirements, i.e., when the system model has been sufficiently trained, the indirect controller with the system model is automatically enabled to replace the direct controller. When the performance falls, the direct controller can automatically assume operation of the plant, preferably maintaining operation in a control region suitable for generating additional training data for the system model. Alternatively, the system model incorporates a committee of models. Various types of sources for errors in the committee of models can be detected and used to implement strategies to improve the quality of the committee.

When a servomotor (control axis) is coasting and rotating in a servo-off state in which no current is applied to the servomotor, this servo-off state is switched over to a servo-on state in which current is applied to the servomotor, and a position control and a speed control are started. An actual speed in servo-on state is obtained in speed obtaining means by a position / speed detector. Position command means obtains a command movement amount using the actual speed as an initial speed. A position deviation amount corresponding to the actual speed is calculated, a command movement amount, a position deviation amount, and a position deviation amount remaining in a position deviation counter in servo-on state with the sign thereof reversed are added to each other as a command amount to the position deviation counter.

A bathroom ventilator fan with the soft-start function includes an impeller and a motor. The motor is coupled to the impeller for driving the impeller to rotate. The motor has a control module for driving and controlling the rotation speed of the motor according to a soft-start signal. The soft-start signal includes a soft-start section and a target-driving section. The control module slowly increases the rotation speed of the motor from the soft-start section to reach the target-driving section.

A method and system are provided for processing multiple sensor output signals of different ranges / sensitivities so as to provide a seamless transition when switching between the different ranges. More specifically, a determination is made as to whether a selected sensor output range is of a sensitivity higher than a predetermined sensitivity. If the sensitivity is higher, the value of a higher sensitivity sensor output is converted to a value corresponding to the predetermined sensitivity range. An error value is then determined between the converted sensor output value and a sensor output corresponding to a range having the predetermined sensitivity. The sensor output is then modified based on the error value when the control process switches from the selected sensor output to the sensor output corresponding to the predetermined sensitivity. This insures that no glitches will occur in a controller output at the time of switchover.

A delivery device comprising an acquisition mode for activating at least one button for controlling the delivery of a drug.

A system and method for reducing fluid drainage into air passageways of a spray device during disassembly. The present technique provides an internally mountable fluid nozzle having a fluid inlet, a fluid exit, and a converging central passageway extending substantially between the fluid inlet and the fluid exit. Accordingly, the internally mountable fluid nozzle has a relatively small internal volume, which reduces the amount of fluid that can be spilled during disassembly of the spray device. The present technique also provides a section of the spray device having an air passageway with an air exit, and a protrusive fluid passageway with a fluid exit in a protrusive offset position from the air exit. The internally mountable fluid nozzle can be mounted to the section in fluid communication with the protrusive fluid passageway, such that fluid spillage or drainage during disassembly does not flow into the air passageway. A spray formation section also may be coupled to the section, such that an internal cavity of the spray formation section is disposed about the internally mountable fluid nozzle.

Initial speeds in the move commands for respective control axes at servo-on are determined according to parameter setting, or the comparative relationship or difference in speed among the actual speeds of the control axes so that difference in position between the control axes does not increase as the move commands are executed after the servo-on. The actual speeds of the control axes are set as initial speeds in the move commands, and a target axis is specified on the basis of the comparative relationship among their actual speeds and the other control axes are accelerated or decelerated at the acceleration or deceleration rate specified in the move commands to attain the position and speed of the target axis, so that differences in position and speed among the control axes are gradually decreased as the move commands are executed after the servo-on, thereby preventing abrupt speed changes and suppressing mechanical shocks.

In a position control arrangement for controlling the rotational position of a movable unit, especially for a surveying instrument, an electric motor is arranged to rotate the movable unit around an axis of rotation, and there are controllers for enabling the motor to stop the movable unit in a desired rotational position. The motor is a direct drive motor, the shaft of which forms the axis of rotation for the movable unit, and the motor is arranged to selectively operate in either a first, normal mode for rotating the movable unit to a desired position, or in a second, friction mode for providing resistance to a forced rotation of the movable unit from a predetermined position to a new position. A control unit detects the presence of a forced rotation and automatically changes the mode of operation in response thereto.

Disclosed herein is a controller and method useful for transferring control of a process control device between first and second control modes. The controller includes first and second servo control modules that generate first and second drive signals based on feedback information from first and second sensors for control of the process control device in accordance with first and second control modes, respectively. The controller also includes a feedback control transfer module that transfers control of the operation of the process control device from the first control mode to the second control mode based on the feedback information from the first sensor. In certain embodiments, such control transfer involves a control routine that initially generates the second drive signal based on the first drive signal to effectuate a smooth, bumpless transfer between the control modes.

A positioning control apparatus including feedback loops according to a plurality of control modes which control positioning of an object to be controlled is provided, in which the positioning control apparatus includes a part (121, 122, 123, 124) for reflecting a control process performed by a control mode before being switched in a control process performed by a control mode after being switched when a control mode is switched to another control mode. For example, an operation parameter on the control mode before being switched is dynamically reflected in the control mode after being switched.

The response process of disturbance recovery control is divided into a follow-up phase, a convergence phase, and a stable phase. A feedback control device includes a first phase switching unit (3) which switches to the follow-up phase, a second phase switching unit (4) which switches to the convergence phase, a third phase switching unit (5) which switches to the stable phase, a first manipulated variable determining unit (6) which outputs a manipulated variable which makes the controlled variable follow up the set point in the follow-up phase, a second manipulated variable determining unit (7) which outputs a manipulated variable which makes the controlled variable converge near the set point in the convergence phase, and a third manipulated variable determining unit (8) which outputs a manipulated variable which makes the controlled variable stable at the set point in the stable phase.

To be able to activate a smoothing filter for a setpoint, with which the movement of a drive axis (A, Ai) of a drive unit (AE) can also be controlled during the movement without a negative effect on the movement, it is provided that the smoothing filter (10) is initialized with a setpoint profile (Sinit) so that a current movement phase ((S0, {dot over (S)}0, . . . , S0(x))) is continued continuously and the repeated time derivative (S(x+1)) of the highest time derivative (S(x)) of the setpoint (S(t), S(k)) is limited.

The numerical controller has function to switch between pressure control and position control, and comprises a numerical control unit and a servo control unit. While the servo control unit is controlling pressure, a servo position deviation amount corresponding to current actual speed of a control axis is set in the servo control unit. After the servo control unit switches to position control from pressure control, a number of pulses required for deceleration and stopping is output to an acceleration / deceleration processing unit of the numerical control unit according to an acceleration / deceleration time constant which is preset. The acceleration / deceleration processing unit outputs a moving amount for each distribution period to the servo control unit.

A control method for controlling a speed of a movable machine element of a numerically controlled industrial processing machine with jerk limitation is described. The processing machine can be, for example, a machine tool, a production machine and / or a robot. A travel path of the movable machine element is first decomposed into a plurality of sequentially arranged, interpolatable travel sections. Jerk profiles are then determined for the interpolatable travel sections, which are modified with a parameter-dependent shape function. The modified jerk profiles provide a filter action that can be represented by bandpass filters having blocking frequencies. The blocking frequencies of the bandpass filters are selected so as to substantially correspond to characteristic frequencies of the machine element. The control method significantly improves the machine dynamics without sacrificing accuracy.

The invention discloses a two-way power supply system for POE (power over Ethernet). An in POE system, a transmitter and a receiver both comprise main boards and internet port terminals convenient to interconnect. The two-way power supply system is characterized in that the transmitter comprises a PSE (power sourcing equipment) module and a PD (powered device) module; the receiver correspondingly comprises a PD module and a PSE module; the PSE modules and the PD modules are all connected through normally-opened and normally-closed relays; the transmitter or the receiver is provided with a power input module. The two-way power supply system has the advantages that in the POE system, during power supply via a power adapter, when one device uses the PSE module (the PD module is off) through the normally-opened and normally-closed relay, the other device uses the PD module (the PSE module is off) through the normally-opened and normally-closed relay, two-way power supply of PSE is intelligentized, and POE two-way transmission is finally achieved.

Disclosed is an industrial control device including a point-to-point backplane / point module architecture providing RIUP (Removal and Insertion Under Power) functionality where data communications between modules is maintained after the removal of a point module from the backplane. According to an exemplary embodiment, a backplane includes a plurality of bypass switches controlled by respective point modules, whereby data communicated bypass a removed point module interface and point-to-point data communications are provided to an inserted point module after an initial routine is executed by a microcontroller associated with the inserted point module.

A numerical controller capable of performing axis reconfiguration of control axes in at least two paths without need for the paths to wait. A program block is read and it is determined whether or not the read block includes an axis detachment command. If the block includes the axis detachment command block, an action axis attribute of an control axis designated by the axis detachment command is altered to a non-action axis attribute. Further, if the read block includes an axis allocation command, it is determined whether or not an control axis designated by the axis allocation command becomes a non-action axis, and when the control axis has the non-action axis attribute, the non-action axis attribute of the control axis is altered to a designated path's action axis attribute. Thus, the axis reconfiguration processing in one path can be performed separately from axis reconfiguration processing in another path.

A pulse distribution unit notifies a mode control / instruction unit of an output start signal Sa that notifies of the start of output of a position command signal. The mode control / instruction unit outputs a mode setting signal, a speed command signal, and a compensation pulse Sc to an axis control unit. In a position control mode, the mode control / instruction unit continues outputting the speed command signal to the axis control unit until the mode control / instruction unit receives the output start signal Sa from the pulse distribution unit, and stops, up receiving the output start signal Sa, outputting the speed command signal. The compensation pulse Sc is output to the axis control unit to cancel the difference between a spindle position and the position control start reference position of the spindle. The axis control unit adds the compensation pulse Sc to the position command signal of the spindle output from the pulse distribution unit and outputs the result to a servo control unit.