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US 5,739,660 AGranted
Process and apparatus for monitoring the movement of a machine component
AssigneeIndex-Werke GmbH & Co. KG Hahn & Tessky
InventorAlfred Gnann
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AssigneeIndex-Werke GmbH & Co. KG Hahn & Tessky
InventorAlfred Gnann
Estimating the term…
Process and apparatus for preventing collisions between two machine components, of which at least a first machine component is displaceable by means of a drive along a straight track relative to the second machine component such that the two components can collide, wherein for the simple and reliable prevention of such collisions a sequence of pulses is generated during movement of at least one of the two components relative to the other component by means of signal generating devices associated with the two machine components, namely such that the distance and/or the length and/or the height of consecutive pulses follows a function of the distance of the two components from one another, measured in track direction, and wherein the drive is controlled as a function of this sequence of pulses.
Process for monitoring the movement of at least a first machine component moved by a drive along a predetermined path for avoiding any overtravelling of an end position admissible in relation to and defined by an actual position of a second machine component, characterized in that a sequence of pulses is generated during a movement of the first component by means of signal generating devices associated with the two machine components, said sequence of pulses having three parameters being (i) the distance between two consecutive pulses, (ii) the length of a pulse and (iii) the height of a pulse, at lease one of said parameters following a function of (a) the distance of the first component from said end position, measured in path direction, and of (b) the relative speed of the first component in relation to the end position, measured in path direction, and that the drive is controlled as a function of said sequence of pulses.
Apparatus for monitoring the movement of at least a first machine component moved by a drive along a predetermined path for avoiding any overtravelling of an end position admissible in relation to and defined by an actual position of a second machine component, wherein a support for a series of markings following one another in path direction is fixedly associated with said end position or the first component, and a sensor for scanning the markings and for generating a corresponding sequence of pulses--during a movement of the first component relative to the end position--is fixedly associated with the first component or the end position, said sequence of pulses having three parameters being (i) the distance between two consecutive pulses, (ii) the length of a pulse and (iii) the height of a pulse, wherein the markings are designed such that at least one of said parameters follows a function of (a) the distance of the first component from the end position, measured in path direction, and of (b) the relative speed of the first component in relation to the end position, measured in path direction, and wherein the sensor and the drive are connected to a drive control such that the drive is adapted to be switched off when a critical distance between the first component and the end position with respect to the relative speed is reached.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.