JP2010071783A - Optical encoder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-cost optical encoder having high positioning accuracy, capable of tracking rapid variations in sinusoidal wave signals of A and B phases due to size reduction. <P>SOLUTION: The optical encoder comprises an AD converter 6 for converting sine wave signals 4a, 4b of the A and B phases having a phase difference of 90° to digital data; a correction circuit 7 for correcting the error of the sinusoidal wave signals; and a compensation-value generating circuit 32 for generating the compensation values 33a, 33b by using H/L signals of H/L digital signals 9a, 9b, and corrects the amplitude of the sinusoidal wave signals 8a, 8b which are digitized, by using the compensation values 33a, 33b generated by the compensation-value generating circuit 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a compensation circuit for an optical encoder that obtains high resolution by interpolating A and B phase sinusoidal signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees.

  The position detection of a rotary (or linear) optical encoder consists of a light emitting element, a light receiving element, a rotating body (or moving body) in which a grid-like light / dark slit is formed, and a fixed plate. The emitted light is transmitted / blocked by a light / dark slit formed in the rotating body (or moving body) and the fixed plate, and the light receiving element outputs an H / L signal.

  As the rotating body (or moving body) moves, the light receiving element outputs an H / L pulse signal. Therefore, the current position can be detected by counting the number of pulses from the reference position. Further, an encoder capable of detecting an absolute position can always obtain independent position information by combining a plurality of slits and light receiving elements so as to produce a gray code output.

  In order to increase the resolution of the optical encoder, it is effective to shorten the slit interval, but there are problems in processing accuracy and light diffraction phenomenon, and there is a limit to increasing the resolution. In recent years, in order to subdivide the slits, a method of increasing resolution by generating and interpolating A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees in the same cycle as the H / L pulse signal. Is generally done.

  FIG. 11 shows the positional relationship among the light emitting element 15, the rotating body (or moving body) 13, and the light receiving element 14, and slits 21a of a fixed plate that generate A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees. 21b, 21c, and 21d are disposed adjacent to slits 19 and 20 of a fixed plate that generate H / L digital signals, and light leaked from adjacent tracks is input to the slits 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d.

  FIG. 12 shows an outline of the shape of the fixed plate of the rotating body (or moving body) and the light receiving element and the output signal waveform. In FIG. 12, the rotating body (or moving body) 13 has slits 16, 17, and 18 for transmitting light from the light emitting elements, and the light receiving element 14 has slits 19, 20, 21a, 21b, 21c, and fixed plates. 21d is arranged.

  The slits 16 and 18 of the rotating body (or moving body) 13 and the slits 19 and 20 of the fixed plate generate H / L digital signals, and the slit 17 of the rotating body (or moving body) 13 and the slit 21a of the fixed plate. , 21b, 21c, and 21d generate A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees. The H / L digital signal is an example in which the output signal is H when light is transmitted.

  With the downsizing of the encoder, the leakage light from the adjacent track shown in FIG. 11 increases, and the influence on the sine wave signal cannot be ignored. As shown in the signal waveform of FIG. 12, the amplitudes of the A and B phase sine wave signals 8a and 8b change rapidly according to the output signals 9a and 9b of the adjacent tracks.

By the way, since the A and B-phase sine wave signals have errors in position detection due to deviations in amplitude and offset due to changes over time and temperature, a correction circuit as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. And a method of detecting a change in offset and correcting sine wave signals of A and B phases have been proposed.

  For example, the previous value of the sine wave signal detected during one cycle of the sine wave signal is compared with the current value, the maximum value is updated when the current value is large, and the minimum value is updated when the current value is small. By updating, the maximum value and the minimum value during one period are obtained, and the deviation of the amplitude and the offset is corrected from the maximum value and the minimum value (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, paying attention to the one-cycle signal of the sine wave obtained from the sine wave signals of the A and B phases, points at which the A and B phases become the maximum value and the minimum value (90 degrees, 270 degrees, 0 degrees, 180 degrees, respectively). ) Generates a sine wave detection trigger, detects the values of the A and B phase sine wave signals, and corrects deviations in amplitude and offset (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

On the other hand, a method has been proposed in which the accuracy error with reference to the master encoder is stored in the memory while being connected to the master encoder during manufacture, and the data stored in the memory is sequentially read and corrected when used (for example, And Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-20902 JP 2002-372437 A JP-A-7-139969

  The problem to be solved is that with the miniaturization of the optical encoder, it is impossible to follow the rapid fluctuation of the A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees, and as a result, the position accuracy deteriorates. is there.

  The methods of Patent Documents 1 and 2 detect the maximum and minimum values of the sine wave signal and correct the deviation of the amplitude and offset of the sine wave signal in the next cycle. It is effective against fluctuations that occur over time. However, there is a problem because it cannot follow the rapid fluctuation of the sine wave signal and the position accuracy deteriorates.

  On the other hand, in the method of Patent Document 3, it is necessary to store the error of the sine wave signal in the memory for each encoder, and the memory capacity increases as the resolution becomes higher.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an optical encoder that can follow rapid fluctuations in A and B phase sine wave signals due to miniaturization and that is inexpensive and has high positional accuracy. .

  In order to solve the above problems, an optical encoder according to claim 1 is a position detector that generates position data from A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees and a plurality of H / L digital signals. And an AD converter for converting the A and B phase sine wave signals into digital data, a correction circuit for correcting an error of the sine wave signal, and a compensation value by the H / L signal of the H / L digital signal. A compensation value generating circuit for generating a maximum value / minimum value detector for detecting respective peak values from the A and B phase sine wave signals converted into digital data, and the maximum value Amplitude correction value calculator for calculating the amplitude correction value of the A and B phase sine wave signals using the peak value detected by the minimum value detector, and the amplitude correction value obtained by the amplitude correction value calculator To digital data. An amplitude correction circuit that corrects the amplitude of the A-phase and B-phase sine wave signals, and the amplitude correction value calculator uses the compensation value generated by the compensation value generation circuit to calculate the amplitude correction value. Add and subtract.

  Further, in the optical encoder according to claim 2, the amplitude correction value calculator updates the compensation value generated by the compensation value generation circuit when the A-phase and B-phase sine wave signals are each at 0 level. Valid.

  The optical encoder according to claim 3, wherein the storage device has an amplitude value of the A and B phase sine wave signals when the output of the H / L digital signal is H and L. A memory for storing the difference is provided.

  The optical encoder according to claim 4, wherein the storage device stores amplitude values of the A and B phase sine wave signals when the output of the H / L digital signal is H and L. A storage device is provided.

  According to the optical encoder of the first aspect, it is possible to obtain a small and high-resolution encoder capable of following a sudden change in the amplitude of the A and B phase sine wave signals only by using an inexpensive small-capacity memory. Can do.

  According to the optical encoder of the second aspect, the change point of the amplitude compensation value becomes the zero cross point of the sine wave signal, and the amplitude correction can be performed smoothly. be able to.

  Further, according to the optical encoders of claims 3 and 4, the compensation value is generated with a simple configuration in which the amplitude values of the A and B phase sine wave signals are measured and stored in the memory at the time of manufacture. be able to.

In a position detector that generates position data from A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees and a plurality of H / L digital signals, the A and B phase sine wave signals are converted into digital data. An AD converter; a correction circuit that corrects an error of the sine wave signal; and a compensation value generation circuit that generates a compensation value using an H / L signal of the H / L digital signal, the correction circuit including digital data A maximum value / minimum value detector for detecting respective peak values from the A and B phase sine wave signals converted into A and B, and a peak value detected by the maximum value / minimum value detector. An amplitude correction value calculator for calculating an amplitude correction value of a phase sine wave signal, and the A and B phase sine wave signals converted into digital data using the amplitude correction value obtained by the amplitude correction value calculator Amplitude correction times to correct the amplitude of It has the amplitude correction value calculator, using the compensation value generated by the compensation value generating circuit, for subtracting the amplitude correction value. Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described.
(Embodiment 1)
An encoder signal compensation circuit according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a block diagram of an encoder signal processing circuit including a correction circuit and a compensation value generation circuit, FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of the correction circuit, FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the compensation value generation circuit, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing of a signal waveform.

  In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1a and 1b denote A and B phase sine wave signals having a 90-degree phase difference output from an encoder. Generally, it comprises a light emitting element, a light receiving element, and a slit plate. The light emitting element is an LED or laser beam, and the light receiving element is a photodiode or a phototransistor.

The slit plate is made of glass or a resin material that transmits light, and a lattice-like mask that blocks light is provided on the slit plate. The light from the light emitting element is arranged to receive the light transmitted by the light receiving element through the slit plate, and the slit plate is installed on the rotating body of the encoder. Thus, a lattice-like shape of the slit plate is formed.

  The amplifiers 2a and 2b amplify minute signals of the output signals 1a and 1b from the encoder. The amplitude of the output signal from the encoder is several hundred mV, and the offset voltages are added by the reference voltages 5a and 5b, and converted to an amplitude of about 1 to 2 V by the amplifiers 2a and 2b to generate the sine wave signals 4a and 4b.

  The AD converter 6 converts the analog signals of the sine wave signals 4a and 4b into sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b.

  The correction circuit 7 includes an offset correction circuit 40, an amplitude correction circuit 41, a phase correction circuit 42, a maximum / minimum value detector 43, an offset correction value calculator 44, and an amplitude correction value calculator 45, and is a sine wave digital signal. Signals 10a and 10b in which offsets, amplitudes, and phase shifts of 8a and 8b are corrected are generated.

  The maximum value / minimum value detector 43 detects the maximum value and the minimum value 37a, 37b of the sine wave digital signals 8a, 8b.

  The offset correction value calculator 44 obtains offset correction values 34a and 34b from (offset reference value− (maximum value + minimum value) / 2) using the detected maximum value and minimum value 37a, 37b. The offset correction circuit 40 can generate the offset-corrected sine wave signals 25a and 25b by adding the offset correction values 34a and 34b to the sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b.

  The amplitude correction value calculator 45 obtains amplitude correction values 35a and 35b from (amplitude reference value / (maximum value−minimum value)) using the detected maximum value and minimum values 37a and 37b. The amplitude correction circuit 41 can generate amplitude-corrected sine wave signals 26a and 26b by multiplying the sine wave digital signals 25a and 25b by amplitude correction values 35a and 35b.

  Further, the amplitude correction value calculator 45 is configured to input the amplitude compensation values 33a and 33b from the compensation value generation circuit 32 as shown in FIG. 1, and this role will be described next.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the compensation value generation circuit. In FIG. 3, the compensation value generators 24 a and 24 b and the memory 30 are configured. The memory 30 receives the output signals 9a and 9b from the tracks TR1 and TR2. Tracks TR1 and TR2 are arranged adjacent to a rotating body (or moving body) 13 that generates sine wave signals 1a and 1b, a light receiving element 14, and an optical system component such as a fixed plate. It is a typical arrangement.

  In accordance with H / L of the output signals 9a and 9b from the tracks TR1 and TR2, as described above, the sine wave signals 8a and 8b vary as shown in FIG. The memory 30 stores data obtained by the H / L combination of the output signals 9a and 9b from the tracks TR1 and TR2. When the H / L signal of the output signals 9a and 9b is input, the memory 30 The memory values 31a and 31b stored in the are output to the compensation value generators 24a and 24b.

  The compensation value generators 24a and 24b latch the memory values 31a and 31b from the storage device 30 and output them to the correction circuit 7 as compensation values 33a and 33b.

The memory values stored in the memory by the storage device 30 are output signals 9a and 9b from TR1 and TR2.
This is a value obtained by measuring the magnitude of fluctuation of the sine wave signals 8a and 8b with the combination of H / L. In the combination of L / L, since it is not affected by the leaked light, the difference from the reference amplitude value (reference amplitude value−detected amplitude value) is stored in the memory of the storage device 30 as the reference amplitude value in other combinations. To do.

  The storage 30 only needs to store a total of 8 data since the H / L combinations of the output signals 9a and 9b from the TR1 and TR2 are 4 for each of the compensation value generators 24a and 24b.

  The compensation values 33a and 33b obtained by the compensation value generation circuit 32 are amplitude fluctuations due to the output signals 9a and 9b from TR1 and TR2. The amplitude correction value calculator 45 adds the compensation values 33a and 33b to the deviation from the reference amplitude value obtained from the maximum value and the minimum value 37a and 37b detected by the offset correction value calculator 44, thereby correcting the amplitude correction value 35a, 35b can be obtained.

  When the amplitude correction circuit 41 performs correction using the amplitude correction values 35a and 35b, the sine wave signals 26a and 26b are detected when the sine wave signals 8a and 8b whose amplitude rapidly changes as shown in FIG. 4 are detected. It is corrected as follows.

With the above configuration, a small, high-resolution, low-capacity memory that can respond to long-term signal changes due to aging, temperature changes, etc., and can follow sudden amplitude fluctuations. Can be obtained.
(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The difference from the first embodiment is that an update timing generator 46 is added to the correction circuit 7, and this point will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a detailed block diagram of the correction circuit 7 of the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of signal waveforms of each block.

  The method for generating the amplitude correction values 35a and 35b is the same as that in the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the generated amplitude correction values 35 a and 35 b are input to the amplitude correction circuit 41 via the update timing generator 46. The operation of the update timing generator 46 will be described in detail.

  The update timing generator 46 always receives the amplitude correction values 35a and 35b and stores them in the internal memory. Since the H / L timings of the output signals 9a and 9b from TR1 and TR2 are asynchronous with the period of the sine wave signal, the amplitude correction values 35a and 35b are also asynchronous with the sine wave signal.

  The update timing generator 46 detects the sine wave signals 25a and 25b output from the offset correction circuit, obtains points (a) and (b) at which the sine wave signals become zero, and generates a zero cross trigger. Using this zero cross trigger as an amplitude correction value update signal, the amplitude correction value 35a is output to the amplitude correction circuit 41 as an amplitude correction value 36a by the zero cross trigger generated at point (a).

The amplitude correction value 35b is output to the amplitude correction circuit 41 as the amplitude correction value 36b by the zero cross trigger generated at the point (b). FIG. 6 shows the signal waveform of each part in the second embodiment, and the amplitude correction values 35a and 35b are updated to 36a and 36b, respectively, at the point where the sine wave signals 25a and 25b become zero. Here, zero of the sine wave signal means the offset reference value described above.

With the configuration as described above, the change point of the amplitude compensation value becomes the zero-cross point of the sine wave signal, and the amplitude correction can be performed smoothly, so that the distortion of the position data to be generated can be suppressed to be small. Further, by using an inexpensive small-capacity memory, it is possible to obtain a small and high-resolution encoder that can respond to a long-term signal change due to aging, temperature change, etc., and can follow a sudden fluctuation in amplitude.
(Embodiment 3)
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. What is different from the first and second embodiments is the configuration of the compensation value generation circuit, which will be described in detail.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an encoder signal processing circuit including a compensation value generation circuit 32a. The compensation value generation circuit 32a includes sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b generated by the AD converter 6, and output signals from TR1 and TR2. 9a and 9b are input.

  FIG. 8 is a detailed block diagram of the compensation value generation circuit 32a, which includes a maximum / minimum value detector 43a, a compensation value calculation circuit 39, a storage 30, and compensation value generators 24a and 24b.

  The maximum value / minimum value detector 43a operates to detect the maximum value / minimum value of the sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b, and operates in the same manner as the maximum value / minimum value detector 43 described above.

  The compensation value calculation circuit 39 obtains an amplitude value from (maximum value−minimum value) using the maximum value and the minimum value detected by the maximum value / minimum value detector 43a. Since the sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b generate lower bits in the position data to be generated, the sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b have a shorter cycle than the output signals 9a and 9b from TR1 and TR2, and the same combination of H / L of the output signals 9a and 9b A plurality of amplitude values can be obtained.

  The compensation value calculation circuit 39 performs an average process of the obtained amplitude values while the H / L combinations of the output signals 9a and 9b are the same. When the rotating body (or moving body) 13 moves and the H / L combination of the output signals 9a and 9b is changed, the compensation value calculation circuit 39 calculates the difference between the reference amplitude value and the amplitude value obtained by the averaging process. The amplitude error values 33 a and 33 b are stored in the storage device 30.

  Since there are four combinations of H / L of the output signals 9a and 9b, when the amplitude compensation values of the sine wave digital signals 8a and 8b are obtained, the compensation values stored in the storage 30 are a total of eight data. .

  The operations of the compensation value generators 24a and 24b are the same as those in the first and second embodiments. The memory values 31a and 31b from the storage device 30 are latched and output to the correction circuit 7 as compensation values 33a and 33b. To do.

  The compensation value can be easily set by performing the above-described process at the time of manufacture. In addition, initial setting may be performed in the above-described process at the time of manufacture, and the compensation value stored in the storage device 30 may be updated when actually used.

  Further, although the difference between the reference amplitude value and the amplitude value obtained by the calculation is stored in the storage device 30, the amplitude value obtained by the calculation is stored in the storage device 30 and compensated by the compensation value generators 24a and 24b. The value may be calculated.

With the above configuration, the compensation value can be easily generated, so it is possible to deal with long-term signal changes due to aging and temperature changes using an inexpensive small-capacity memory, and the amplitude It is possible to obtain a small and high-resolution encoder that can follow a sudden fluctuation of the encoder.

  The optical encoder of the present invention is useful not only for a servo motor control device but also for a device for obtaining high-resolution position data.

Block diagram of an encoder circuit in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Detailed block diagram of a correction circuit according to the first embodiment Detailed block diagram of compensation value generation circuit in Embodiment 1 Explanatory drawing of the signal waveform of each block in the first embodiment Detailed block diagram of the correction circuit in the second embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the signal waveform of each block in Embodiment 2 of this invention The block diagram of the encoder circuit in Embodiment 3 of this invention Embodiment 3 of the present invention Detailed block diagram of a compensation value generation circuit Block diagram of encoder circuit in conventional example Detailed block diagram of correction circuit in conventional example Configuration diagram of encoder in conventional example Illustration of signal waveform of each block in the conventional example

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b Sine wave signal (A phase, B phase)
2a, 2b Amplifier 3 Amplifier circuit 4a, 4b Amplified sine wave signal (A phase, B phase)
5a, 5b Reference voltage 6 AD converter 7 Correction circuit 8a, 8b Sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
9a, 9b Output signals from tracks (TR1, TR2)
10a, 10b Normalized digital signal (A phase, B phase)
11 Position data 12 Substrate 13 Rotating body (or moving body)
14 Light receiving element 15 Light emitting element 16 Slit of rotating body (or moving body) (for TR1 signal generation)
17 Rotating body (or moving body) slit (for sine wave signal generation)
18 Rotating body (or moving body) slit (for TR2 signal generation)
19, 20 Fixed plate slit (for TR1, TR2 signal generation)
21a, 21b, 21c, 21d Fixed plate slit (for sine wave signal generation)
22 Position data conversion circuit 24a, 24b Compensation value generator for sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
25a, 25b Offset-corrected sine wave signals (A phase, B phase)
26a, 26b Amplitude corrected sine wave signals (A phase, B phase)
30 Memory 31a, 31b Memory value 32 Compensation value generation circuit 33a, 33b Compensation value of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
34a, 34b Offset correction value of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
35a, 35b Amplitude correction value of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
36a, 36b Amplitude correction value of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
37a, 37b Maximum and minimum values of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
38a, 38b Maximum and minimum values of sine wave digital signal (A phase, B phase)
39 Compensation Value Calculation Circuit 40 Offset Correction Circuit 41 Amplitude Correction Circuit 42 Phase Correction Circuit 43 Maximum Value / Minimum Value Detector 44 Offset Correction Calculator 45 Amplitude Correction Value Calculator 46 Update Timing Generator

Claims (4)

In a position detector for generating position data from A and B phase sine wave signals having a phase difference of 90 degrees and a plurality of H / L digital signals,
An AD converter for converting the A and B phase sine wave signals into digital data;
A correction circuit for correcting an error of the sine wave signal;
A compensation value generating circuit for generating a compensation value with the H / L signal of the H / L digital signal;
The correction circuit includes a maximum value / minimum value detector for detecting respective peak values from the A and B phase sine wave signals converted into digital data;
An amplitude correction value calculator for calculating amplitude correction values of the A and B phase sine wave signals using the peak value detected by the maximum value / minimum value detector;
Using an amplitude correction value obtained by the amplitude correction value calculator, an amplitude correction circuit for correcting the amplitude of the A and B phase sine wave signals converted into digital data;
The optical encoder is characterized in that the amplitude correction value calculator adds or subtracts the amplitude correction value using the compensation value generated by the compensation value generation circuit.   2. The amplitude correction value calculator validates the update of the compensation value generated by the compensation value generation circuit when the A and B phase sine wave signals are each at 0 level. Optical encoder.   The storage device includes a storage device for storing a difference between amplitude values of the sine wave signals of the A and B phases when the output of the H / L digital signal is H and L. The optical encoder according to claim 1 or 2.   The storage device includes a storage device for storing amplitude values of the sine wave signals of the A and B phases when the output of the H / L digital signal is H and L, respectively. The optical encoder according to claim 1 or 2.

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