Workpiece transport control system and motion guidance device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10844904-B2
Application number	US-201816480095-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2018
Priority date	Jan 24, 2017
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

To suitably set a control gain in feedback control while suppressing an increase in apparatus size. A workpiece transport control system includes: one or a plurality of motion guidance devices; a table on which a workpiece is to be placed; an actuator which imparts a driving force to the table; a control unit which performs transport control by feedback control; and a calculation unit which calculates a transport load applied from the workpiece to a moving member of each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices, wherein a control gain related to the feedback control in the transport control is adjusted on the basis of the transport load in each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A workpiece transport control system which transports a workpiece while movably supporting the workpiece using a motion guidance device having a track member which extends along a longitudinal direction and a moving member which is arranged so as to oppose the track member via a rolling element rollably arranged inside a rolling groove and which is relatively movable along the longitudinal direction of the track member, the workpiece transport control system comprising:
one or a plurality of motion guidance devices;
a transport table which is a table on which the workpiece is to be placed, the transport table being supported by the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices;
an actuator which imparts a driving force so that the transport table is transported;
a control unit which performs transport control by feedback control during transport of the workpiece by the actuator; and
a calculation unit which calculates a transport load applied from the workpiece to the moving member of each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices, wherein
the calculation unit calculates the transport load when the workpiece is stationary; and
the control unit adjusts a control gain related to the feedback control in the transport control in advance before the moving member starts moving, on the basis of the transport load in each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices as calculated by the calculation unit.

2. The workpiece transport control system according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit estimates a total load of the workpiece or a load distribution of the workpiece on the basis of the transport load in each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices as calculated by the calculation unit, and sets a gain value corresponding to the estimated total load of the workpiece or the estimated load distribution of the workpiece as the control gain.

3. The workpiece transport control system according to claim 2 , wherein
the control unit sets, when it is determined that the total load of the workpiece or the load distribution of the workpiece has changed on the basis of the transport load in each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices as calculated by the calculation unit, and before the workpiece is to be driven for the first time by the actuator after the change, a gain value corresponding to the total load of the workpiece or the load distribution of the workpiece after the change as the control gain.

4. The workpiece transport control system according to claim 1 , wherein
each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices further includes a plurality of displacement sensors which detect a displacement of the moving member in a prescribed number of displacement directions in the moving member, and
the calculation unit calculates, for each of the one or a plurality of motion guidance devices, the transport load on the basis of detected values of the plurality of displacement sensors of each motion guidance device.

5. The workpiece transport control system according to claim 1 , wherein
the actuator is a first actuator,
the workpiece transport control system further includes
a second actuator that differs from the first actuator, the second actuator imparting a driving force together with the first actuator so that the transport table is transported,
the workpiece transport control system includes a plurality of the motion guidance device, and
the control unit performs transport control by feedback control in each actuator when the workpiece is simultaneously transported by the first actuator and the second actuator, and adjusts a first control gain related to the feedback control for the first actuator and a second control gain related to the feedback control for the second actuator in the transport control on the basis of the transport load in each of the plurality of motion guidance devices as calculated by the calculation unit.

6. The workpiece transport control system according to claim 5 , wherein
the control unit estimates a load distribution of the workpiece in the transport table on the basis of the transport load in each of the plurality of motion guidance devices as calculated by the calculation unit, and sets the first control gain and the second control gain in correspondence to the estimated load distribution.

7. A motion guidance device having a track member which extends along a longitudinal direction and a moving member which is arranged so as to oppose the track member via a rolling element rollably arranged inside a rolling groove and which is relatively movable along the longitudinal direction of the track member, the motion guidance device comprising:
a plurality of displacement sensors which detect displacements of the moving member in a prescribed number of displacement directions of the moving member;
a calculation unit which calculates, on the basis of detected values of the plurality of displacement sensors, a transport load applied from the workpiece to the moving member; and
an output unit which generates and outputs, on the basis of the transport load, gain-related information that is related to a control gain for feedback control when transport of the workpiece is performed via the feedback control by an external control device while movably supporting the workpiece with the motion guidance device, the gain-related information being information to be used in an adjustment process of the control gain when a load of the workpiece changes,
wherein the calculation unit calculates the transport load when the workpiece is stationary; and
the control gain is set in advance before the moving member starts moving.

Assignees

• Thk Co Ltd

Inventors

• Unno Akihiro
• Hayashi Yuki
• Tanaka Yuki
• Ohashi Tomofumi
• Asano Yusuke
• Kogure Katsunori

Classifications

• H02P31/00

  Arrangements for regulating or controlling electric motors not provided for in groups H02P1/00 - H02P5/00, H02P7/00 or H02P21/00 - H02P29/00 · CPC title

• G05D3/12

  using feedback · CPC title

• F16C29/06 Primary

  in which the rolling bodies circulate partly without carrying load · CPC title

• B65G2201/02

  Articles · CPC title

• B65G43/00 Primary

  Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting · CPC title