Velocity command signal generating apparatus

Apparatus for generating a plurality of velocity command signals each representing a predetermined optimum velocity of movement of a respective one of a plurality of movable elements from its actual position to a desired stopping position, said apparatus comprising:

• addressable memory means responsive to a plurality of first signals each representative of the distance to be traveled by a respective one of said movable elements from its actual position to a desired stopping position for generating a corresponding plurality of second signals, each second signal being proportional to a predetermined optimum velocity of movement for each of said movable elements when required to be moved a distance represented by the corresponding first signal;
• a plurality of multiplication means respectively associated with said plurality of movable elements, each multiplication means being coupled to said addressable memory means and being capable when enabled of multiplying a second signal applied thereto by a constant representative of the particular motion characteristics of the associated movable element in order to form a velocity command signal representing the predetermined optimum velocity of movement for said associated movable element;
• and
• means coupled to each of said plurality of multiplication means and responsive to a plurality of third signals respectively identifying said plurality of movable elements for enabling said plurality of multiplication means.

In a system for controlling the movements of a plurality of movable elements, said system including a plurality of servo control means respectively associated with and coupled to said plurality of movable elements, each servo control means utilizing velocity command data as a reference input, apparatus for generating a velocity command signal representing a predetermined optimum velocity of movement of a selected one of said plurality of movable elements from its actual position to a desired stopping position, and means for applying said velocity command signal as a reference input to the servo control means associated with said selected movable element, the improvement comprised in that:

• said apparatus includes means responsive to a first signal representative of the distance to be traveled by said selected movable element from its actual position to a desired stopping position for generating a second signal proportional to a predetermined optimum velocity of movement for each of said plurality of movable elements when required to be moved a distance represented by said first signal, a plurality of multiplication means respectively associated with said plurality of movable elements, each multiplication means being coupled to said means for generating a second signal and being capable when enabled of multiplying said second signal by a constant representative of the particular motion characteristics of the associated movable element in order to form a velocity command signal representing the predetermined optimum velocity of movement for said associated movable element, and means coupled to each of said plurality of multiplication means and responsive to a third signal representative of the selection of said selected movable element for enabling the multiplication means associated with said selected movable element.

Apparatus for generating a plurality of velocity command signals for application to a respective plurality of servo control systems for effecting the controlled movements of a respective plurality of movable elements, said apparatus comprising:

• memory means addressable in a time-shared manner by a plurality of address signals each defining a particular address location in said memory means and representing a particular distance to be traveled by a respective one of said movable elements from its actual position to a desired stopping position, said particular address location storing a normalized velocity command signal proportional to a predetermined optimum velocity of movement for each of said plurality of movable elements when required to be moved said particular distance;
• a plurality of multiplication means respectively associated with said plurality of movable elements, each multiplication means being coupled to said memory means and being capable when enabled of multiplying said normalized velocity command signal by a constant representative of the particular motion characteristics of the associated movable element in order to form a velocity command signal representing the predetermined optimum velocity of movement for said associated movable element;
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• means coupled to each of said plurality of multiplication means and responsive to a plurality of data tag signals respectively identifying said plurality of movable elements for successively enabling the plurality of multiplication means in accordance with the order in which said address signals were applied to said memory means.