Transportation system with motor field control

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprises a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source and said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including summing means operatively coupled to phase means and receiving an alternating reference signal varying in response to said varying source energy and to reference means and receiving a constant reference signal and to command means and selectively receiving a field energy command signal in response to commanded vehicle movement and providing an output in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal and a switching circuit operating in response to said output varying in accordance with said alternating reference signal and said constant reference signal and the lack of said field energy command signal and operatively rendering said gated rectifying means conductive during a predetermined portion of each cycle of source energy and providing a predetermined magnitude of direct current field energy to said field circuit.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjcent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source and said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including summing means operatively coupled to phase means and receiving an alternating reference signal varying in response to said varying source energy and to reference means and receiving a constant reference signal and to commnd means and selectively receiving a field energy command signal in response to commanded vehicle movement and providing an output in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal operatively controlling switching means having an output selectively operable from a first condition to a second condition and supplying gating pulses from storage means to said gated rectifying means and rendering said rectifying means conductive and selectively supplying varying amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjaent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source and said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including summing means operatively coupled to phase means and receiving an alternating reference signal varying in response to said varying source energy and to reference means and receiving a constant reference signal and to command means and selectively receiving a field energy command signal in response to comanded vehicle movement and to disable means and selectively receiving a disable signal and providing an output in response to saaid alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal and said disable signal and operatively controlling the operation of said gated rectifying means and selectively supplying varying amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit and disabling said gated rectifying means to prevent the conduction of energy to said field circuit during a predetermined portion of each cycle of source energy.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source and said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including summing means operatively coupled to phase means including a lead filter network operatively coupled to said source and a lag filter network connecting said lead network to said summing means and supplying an alternating reference signal varying in response to said varying source energy and to reference means and receiving a constant reference signal and to command means and selectively receiving a field energy command signal in response to commanded vehicle movement and providing an output in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal and operatively controlling the operation of said gated rectifying means and selectively supplying varying amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source of said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including summing means having a plurality of summing circuits operatively coupled to phase means providing a plurality of alternating reference signals varying in response to said varying source energy and corresponding to said plurality of phases of energy with each summing circut corresponding to one of said phases and receives an appropriate one of said alternating reference signals relating to said corresponding phase, said summing means operatively connected to reference means and receiving a constant reference signal and to command means and selectively receiving a field energy command signal in response to commanded veehicle movement and providing an output in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal and operatively controlling the operation of said gated rectifying means and selectively supplying varying amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and a transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including an armature circuit and a field circuit separately coupled to source means supplying alternating energy, and control means connected to said source means and controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source means and said field circuit and between said source means and said armature circuit, said control means including command means providng a first signal having a first polarity and commanding a first predetermined magnitude of field energization and means sensing the energy flowing between said source means and said field circuit and providing a second signal having a second polarity and proportional to said sensed field energy and means sensing the energy flowing between said source means and said armature circuit and providing a third signal having said first polarity and directly proportional to said sensed armature energy and summing means providing a common summing circuit and directly summing said first, second and third signals and providing an analog output signal at an output operatively connected to control the amount of uni-directional energy supplied to said field circuit from said alternating energy source means.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and a transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a first energy source means providing polyphase energy and an armature circuit coupled to a second energy source means, and control means connected to said second source means and controlling the amount of energy flowing between said second source means and said armature circuit, said control means including gated rectifying means connected to said first source means and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including means providing a first signal commanding a first predetermined magnitude of field energization and means sensing the energy flowing between said first source means and said field circuit and providing a second signal varying according to the varying sensed field energy and means sensing the energy flowing between said second source means and said armature circuit and providing a third signal varying according to the varying sensed armature energy and phase means connected to said first source and providing an alternating reference signal varying in response to the varying sensed polyphase energy and summing means providing an output in response to said first, second, third and alternating reference signals and operatively controlling the operation of said gated rectifying means supplying varying controlled amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit.

A transportation system having a guide path structure and a plurality of spaced landings and transportation means comprising a transport vehicle, means mounting said vehicle for movement relative to said structure in a path extending adjacent each of said landings, motive means including a D.C. motor having a field circuit coupled to a source of polyphase energy and moving said vehicle relative to said structure, and control means controlling the amount of energy flowing between said source and said motive means including gated rectifying means connected to said source and to said field circuit and to gating control means, said gating control means including phase means providing an alternating reference signal varying in response to said varying source energy and reference means providing a constant reference signal and command means selectively providing a field energy command signal in response to commanded vehicle movement and output means operating in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and said command signal and operatively controlling the operation of said gated rectifying means and selectively supplying varying amounts of uni-directional energy to said field circuit, said gating control output means operating in response to said alternating and constant reference signals and the lack of said field energy command signal and operatively rendering said gated rectifying means condutive during a predetermined portion of each cycle of source energy and providng a predetermined amount of uni-directional energy to said field circuit.