Tracking control of a conveyor belt: design and experiments

Author

Tsai, M.C. ; Lee, C.H.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Mech. Eng., Nat. Cheng Kung Univ., Tainan, Taiwan

Volume

12

Issue

1

fYear

1996

fDate

2/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

126

Lastpage

131

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental setup for a position tracking system that is to control a working table to track a workpiece on a moving conveyor belt, such that the manipulator placed on the working table is able to operate upon the workpiece while the workpiece is still moving. The feedback control employs a reflective type optical sensor which is placed on the table, to measure the relative positions of the working table and the workpiece. A predictive method to compensate for the effect of sensor output saturation on tracking performance is investigated in detail. The application of this tracking control to industrial production lines to achieve a nonstop work flow may shorten overall manufacturing time, and therefore improve the production efficiency and increase the productivity

Keywords

compensation; conveyors; feedback; industrial robots; manipulators; optical sensors; position measurement; compensation; conveyor belt; feedback control; position tracking system; reflective type optical sensor; tracking control; Automatic control; Belts; Control systems; Manufacturing processes; Optical sensors; Production; Sensor systems; Servomechanisms; Servomotors; Workstations;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Robotics and Automation, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1042-296X

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/70.481757

Filename

481757