Cutting Head Distance Control with Delayed Sensor Synchronization

The patent applies preliminary action by calculating the position of the material at an earlier time point (t-dt) before the current time (t). The controller uses the distance signal from the capacitive distance sensor that was received at time (t-dt) and combines it with the actual axis position from the motor encoder at time (t-dt) to determine the material position in advance. This allows the system to compensate for the sensor delay by working with previously available data, thereby reducing the effective time delay in the control loop.

The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring the actual axis position from the motor encoder and comparing it with the target position derived from the distance sensor signal. The controller adjusts the drive unit's position in real-time based on the difference between the actual and target positions. This closed-loop feedback mechanism allows the system to maintain precise distance control while compensating for overshooting by detecting position deviations and correcting them in the subsequent control cycles.

The patent introduces an intermediary calculation step where the controller synchronizes the distance signal from the capacitive distance sensor with the actual axis position from the motor encoder by referencing both signals to the same time point (t-dt). This synchronization acts as an intermediary process that bridges the timing mismatch between the two signals, allowing them to be combined meaningfully without introducing instability, while adding only minimal computational complexity.