Apparatus That Controls Motion of Independent Movers Along a Path

A controlled motion system comprising:

• a track that forms a closed path for movers, wherein at least a portion of said path is linear;
• a plurality of movers movably mounted on the track for independently moving along said path, said movers comprising a driven member that is oriented to be mechanically engaged by at least one drive element at any position along the path;
• and
• a plurality of drive elements arranged along the track, said drive elements each comprising a surface that is oriented to contact the driven member of said movers, wherein said drive elements are configured to sequentially engage the driven member of a plurality of said movers to provide controlled motion of said movers independently around said track, wherein the drive elements are each driven by a rotary motor;
• and
• a programmable computer control system in communication with the rotary motors that coordinates the motion of the rotary motors wherein the rotational position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the rotary motors can cooperate such that the position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk of each individual mover can be independently controlled at any position along the path.