Method for adaptive guiding of webs

1. A method of adaptive guiding of a web on a roller, comprising:

measuring a position of the web;

calculating the difference e 1 between an output of a model equation and the measured position;

computing a value for a first parameter (w) belonging to a set of parameters of the model equation initialized to zero, the first parameter being a function of measured position of the web, a control input value on the roller, and a desired web position;

computing a value for a second parameter (φ) belonging to the set of parameters of the model equation, the second parameter being a filtered output of the first parameter;

computing a value for a third parameter ({dot over (θ)}) belonging to the set of parameters of the model equation, the third parameter being a rate of change of e t and the second parameter;

when at least one of e 1 is greater than a predetermined constant and the third parameter is greater than a predetermined difference from zero, computing the control parameters by integrating the third parameter;

when the updated control parameters are outside a set of predetermined bounds, resetting the controller parameters to zero;

when the updated control parameters are within the set of predetermined bounds, computing a new control input based on the updated controller parameters; and

when the new control input is within limits of a guide actuator, providing the new control input to the guide actuator.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising freezing the parameters when the computed values for the control parameters are changed less than a predetermined amount from the previous values.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein only one guide roller is controlled.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of guide rollers are controlled.