Method for Controlling A Movement, A Control Device, A Linear Drive, A Production Machine, A Packaging Machine and a Computer Program Product

A method for controlling a movement of at least one rotor of a linear drive comprising at least one segment and the rotor, the method comprising:

• specifying a movement pattern for the at least one rotor;
• transforming the movement pattern of the at least one rotor into a specification for a virtual axis;
• and
• transforming the specification of the virtual axis into a specification for a real axis or into a specification for a plurality of real axes, the specification being provided for the at least one real axis of a control unit which utilizes the specification to control the movement of the at least one rotor on the segment.

A method for at least one of controlling and regulating a movement of rotors in a linear drive configured for transportation of goods or products in a machine station or from one machine station to another machine station, segments being provided for moving the rotors, a control device being configured to at least one of (i) control and (ii) regulate the movement of the rotors on the segments, the linear drive within the control device being configured via assignments in which a respective machine station is assigned a respective station, a respective rotor is assigned a virtual axis, a respective segment is assigned a real axis, the method comprising:

• specifying a movement profile for the respective station;
• specifying input conditions comprising an intended number of virtual axes for the respective station;
• specifying a sequence/position of the real axes;
• and
• controlling or regulating the rotors of the linear drive, the segments being controlled/regulated based on the specification of the real axes, the real axes being ascertained from a respective virtual axis ascertained from at least one of (i) the respective movement profile of the station and (ii) a sequence of passed-through stations;
• wherein the sequence of stations may have been specified for a rotor, and/or results in such a way that the virtual axis is assigned to a station when a station is ready for receiving the intended number of virtual axes and the intended number of virtual axes for the station is available;
• wherein the virtual axes are assigned in accordance with a specified sequence, respectively one after the other, to the specified stations.

A control device for a linear drive, comprising:

• an input for a movement pattern of a rotor of the linear drive;
• and
• at least one output for a signal for at least one control unit;
• wherein the control device is configured to converting the movement pattern into signals for control units.

A non-transitory computer program product encoded a computer program for at least one of installation and execution on a computer unit which, when executed by the computer unit, causes the computer unit to control a movement of at least one rotor of a linear drive comprising at least one segment and the rotor, the computer program comprising:

• program code for specifying a movement pattern for the at least one rotor;
• program code for transforming the movement pattern of the at least one rotor into a specification for a virtual axis;
• and
• program code for transforming the specification of the virtual axis into a specification for a real axis or into a specification for a plurality of real axes, the specification being provided for the at least one real axis of a control unit which utilizes the specification to control the movement of the at least one rotor on the segment.

A linear drive comprising:

• at least one segment;
• a rotor which executes a specified movement on the at least one segment;
• at least one control unit;
• a control device connected to the at least one control unit and including an input for a movement pattern of the rotor of the linear drive, and at least one output for a signal for the at least one control unit;
• and
• wherein a respective segment is connected to a respective control unit;
• wherein the control device is configured to provide signals to the respective control unit for controlling the rotor on the respective segment;
• wherein the respective segment is optionally assigned to a machine station;
• and
• wherein the control device being configured to converting the movement pattern into signals for the control unit.