A control apparatus includes driving means for rotationally driving a predetermined mechanism, braking means for braking the driving means by pressing a pressing unit against a rotation unit of the driving means, and control means for, in order to change rotation position of the predetermined mechanism, controlling the driving means in a braking release period in which the pressing unit is returned to a predetermined position to temporarily maintain the rotation position of the predetermined mechanism, and then driving the predetermined mechanism to thereby change the rotation position. The control apparatus performs at least one of notification to the user, braking of the predetermined mechanism, and stopping of the driving means when a command time for the driving means at the time of temporarily maintaining the rotation position of the predetermined mechanism is longer than or equal to a predetermined time.

Techniques and apparatus for performing a power-on self-test for a braking system in an autonomous delivery robot are described. One technique includes moving each wheel of the autonomous delivery robot in a first direction in accordance with predefined criteria, while brake module(s) of the braking system are engaged to one or more of the wheels to stop movement of the one or more wheels. A first amount of movement of at least a first wheel that is engaged to a first brake module is determined. Upon determining that the first amount of movement satisfies a predetermined condition, a determination is made that the braking system has failed the test and the brake module(s) of the braking system are kept in an engaged state.

A motor includes a brake diagnostics system with sensors to assess the brake assembly condition. Acoustic or other vibration sensors provide vibration data that is compared to known vibration spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The brake diagnostics system monitors current flow in the brake coil to assess the condition of the brake assembly. The sensed brake coil current is compared to known coil current spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The voltage input to the brake coil is varied depending upon the current sensed in the brake coil to minimize heat in the brake coil. The motor also includes a resilient layer of thermally conductive material located between the brake assembly and the housing that provides a continuous, uninterrupted thermal pathway between the brake assembly and the motor housing.

A robot system includes one or more combinations of a driving section configured to receive supply of electric power and generate a rotation output of an output shaft and receive supply of a rotating force to the output shaft and generate electric power, a movable section moved by the rotation output, a detecting section configured to detect an angular position of the output shaft, resistor equipment coupled to the driving section, and a switch that can turn on and off coupling of the resistor equipment and the driving section and a control section configured to control the robot system. The control section can execute first braking control targeting the driving section to which the electric power is not supplied, the first braking control calculating speed of the rotation output of the driving section based on an output of the detecting section and causing the switch to turn on and off the coupling of the resistor equipment and the driving section at timing determined in a time-series manner according to target deceleration of the driving section and the speed of the rotation output.

A safety system for a train equipped with an ECP air brake arrangement, in which the train includes at least one locomotive and at least one railcar connected to a trainline network, the system including: at least one power supply; at least one power supply controller to communicate over the trainline network and control the at least one power supply; at least one local controller to: communicate over the trainline network; receive or determine railcar data including a condition or parameter associated with the at least one railcar; and, based at least partially on the railcar data, generate at least one first message to deactivate the at least one power supply. A computer-implemented method for monitoring and responding to at least one railcar's derailment is also disclosed.

A failure prediction device is provided with a machine learning device configured to learn the state of a brake of a motor with respect to data on the brake. The machine learning device observes brake operating state data indicative of an operating state of the brake when the brake is in a normal state, as state variables representative of a current environmental state, and uses the observed state variables to learn a distribution of the state variables with the brake in the normal state.

A motor includes a brake diagnostics system with sensors to assess the brake assembly condition. Acoustic or other vibration sensors provide vibration data that is compared to known vibration spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The brake diagnostics system monitors current flow in the brake coil to assess the condition of the brake assembly. The sensed brake coil current is compared to known coil current spectrum data to compare the condition of the brake assembly to a properly functioning brake assembly. The voltage input to the brake coil is varied depending upon the current sensed in the brake coil to minimize heat in the brake coil. The motor also includes a resilient layer of thermally conductive material located between the brake assembly and the housing that provides a continuous, uninterrupted thermal pathway between the brake assembly and the motor housing.

A robot includes a motor that includes a brake and moves an arm on a drive axis, and a rotational position detector that detects movement of the arm. When a state occurs in which the robot is preferably emergency-stopped, a control device performs an emergency stop control in which the brake is operated and power supply to the motor is interrupted. When the movement of the arm is detected based on an output of the rotational position detector during the emergency stop control, the control device supplies power to the motor to prevent the movement of the arm.

A method for decelerating a robot axis arrangement having at least one output link includes steps of applying a braking force on the output link with a brake and, in so doing, controlling a driving force of a drive that acts on the output link, and/or controlling the braking force on the basis of a dynamic variable of the output link, wherein the dynamic variable is a function of the braking force.

A method for decelerating a robot axis arrangement having at least one output link includes steps of applying a braking force on the output link with a brake and, in so doing, controlling a driving force of a drive that acts on the output link, and/or controlling the braking force on the basis of a dynamic variable of the output link, wherein the dynamic variable is a function of the braking force.