Logistics space and method for operating same
The present invention relates to a logistics area ( 15, 115, 215, 315, 415 ) comprising a plurality of planar units ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ), wherein each planar unit ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ) is equipped with at least one encoder ( 5 ) having at least one sensor array ( 11 ) for determining the position and/or positioning of at least one mover ( 40 ), wherein the at least one mover ( 40 ) comprises magnets arranged in at least one pole pitch grid, wherein further the plurality of planar units ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ) being arranged to a surface in such a way that the encoders ( 5 ) of the planar units ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ) form at least an at least area-wise uniform grid, wherein the distance of the encoders ( 5 ) of at least two planar units ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ) and/or at least two encoders ( 5 ) of a planar unit ( 1, 101, 201, 301, 401 ) corresponds to a multiple of the pole pair width of the magnets of the at least one mover ( 40 ), as well as a method for operating at least one logistics surface and a computer program product as well as a control unit for a logistics surface.
1. A logistics surface comprising a plurality of planar units, wherein each planar unit is equipped with at least one encoder, having at least one sensor array, for determining the position and/or positioning of at least one mover, wherein the at least one mover comprises magnets arranged in at least one pole pitch grid; the plurality of planar units is arranged to form a surface such that the encoders of the planar units form at least one grid which is at least partly uniform, and the spacing of the encoders of at least two planar units and/or of at least two encoders of one planar unit corresponds to multiple pole pair widths of the magnets of the at least one mover.
2. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that a surface comprised by the at least one mover is larger than a surface comprised by a planar unit, preferably the surface is comprised by at least four planar units, the mover rests moveably on the logistics surface and/or is held in position by its weight and/or by the magnetic pull of at least a part of the magnets in the pole pitch grid of the at least one mover, in particular if the at least one mover is not to be actively moved and/or the multiple pole pair widths is a natural number, a real number greater than 1, and/or a rational number.
3. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that at least one length of the planar unit defining the, preferably square, surface of the planar unit corresponds to an in particular natural, real and/or rational multiple, preferably 24-times or 12-times, of the pole pair width of the magnets of the at least one mover and/or the planar unit has a length of more than 100 mm, preferably more than 200, more preferably more than 400, particularly preferably 480 mm and/or the magnets in the pole pitch grid of the at least one mover are arranged at a pole pair width of more than 4 mm, preferably more than 16.66 mm, more preferably more than 18.75 mm, particularly preferably 20 mm or 40 mm.
4. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that the sensors of the sensor array are arranged at a spacing of 1/n of the pole pair width of the magnets, wherein the array in particular comprises n 2 sensors, wherein preferably an array with nine sensors which are arranged at a spacing of ⅓ of the pole pair width is implementable, wherein in particular the sensors comprise Hall sensors, fluxgate compasses and/or magnetometers, and/or wherein n is a natural number, a real number greater than 1, and/or a rational number.
5. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that the at least one encoder is arranged centrally in the planar unit, preferably centrally on the surface of the planar unit facing toward the at least one mover.
6. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that the planar unit comprises at least one control unit which is preferably operatively connected to the at least one encoder of the planar unit, in particular via at least one first communication interface, and/or is configured to read and/or evaluate signals, preferably at least one signal amplitude, of the at least one encoder or of the sensor array of the at least one encoder, preferably in order to detect if the planar unit is at least partly covered by a mover, wherein in particular the communication with the at least one encoder is carried out via SPI (serial Peripheral Interface) communication.
7. The logistics surface according to claim 6 , characterized in that the at least one control unit and the at least one drive unit of the planar unit is embodied as a component, preferably as an integrated component, in particular as a two-axis servo motor or stepper motor control system.
8. The logistics surface according to claim 6 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of at least one planar unit communicates with one or more other control units of other planar units of the logistics surface, in particular in real time, via at least one third communication interface, preferably a proprietary bus, particularly preferably an FPGA-based bus, CAN bus, EtherCAT or another Ethernet-based bus, and/or, preferably via at least one fourth communication interface, is operatively connected to, in particular affiliated to, at least one bottom layer motion controller, BLMC, wherein preferably each BLMC is associated with an interconnected region of planar units of the logistics surface, in particular the associated planar units are each operatively connected to, in particular affiliated to, the corresponding BLMC via the fourth communication interface, and/or the BLMCs and control units are cascadingly organized and/or, at least indirectly, connected.
9. The logistics surface according to claim 6 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of a planar unit is configured to forward to the at least one BLMC the read-out or evaluated signals of the encoder or of the sensor array of the encoder, preferably in real time and/or by means of the fourth communication interface, wherein said BLMC preferably forwards these signals for each affiliated planar unit, in particularly collectively and/or by means of the fifth communication interface to the superior control system and/or forwards them directly to the superior control system.
10. The logistics surface according to claim 8 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of at least one planar unit is, preferably directly, operatively connected to, in particular connected to and/or in communication with, at least one control unit of at least one of the corresponding surrounding and/or adjacent planar units via the third communication interface.
11. The logistics surface according to claim 10 , characterized in that the communication and/or connection of the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit with the adjacent and/or surrounding control units of the planar unit(s) is/are delimited, in particular by at least one external command of the at least one BLMC and/or the at least one control system and/or a superior grouping of planar units and/or a subdivision of the logistics surface, wherein preferably planar units which are only adjacent to each other at at least one corresponding edge communicate via the third communication interface.
12. The logistics surface according to claim 8 , characterized in that the at least one BLMC is operatively connected to at least one superior control system, preferably via at least one fifth communication interface, wherein preferably by means of the control system, the BLMC and/or the control unit, one or more partial routes, driving orders and/or driving commands for the at least one or more movers are generatable and/or transferable to the relevant BLMC(s), wherein preferably the one or more driving orders is/are provisible to the superior control system by an enterprise resource planning system (ERPS).
13. The logistics surface according to claim 12 , characterized in that for at least one and/or each mover with which a driving command and/or a driving order is associated, the superior control system is configured to define as the primary control unit or master the control unit of a planar unit which and/or at least one encoder of which is covered at least partly by the mover, wherein preferably the organization of the driving commands and/or partial route necessary for carrying out the driving order, in particular the information relevant to the driving command and/or the partial route, is carried out by the control unit defined as the primary control unit and/or the relay of the driving commands necessary for carrying out the driving order or partial route and/or for the information necessary for the driving command and/or the partial route to at least one control unit of at least one further planar unit is carried out, preferably via the third and/or fourth communication interface.
14. The logistics surface according to claim 13 , characterized in that the control unit determined as the primary control unit is configured such that further control units of surrounding planar units which are at least partly covered by the mover are each definable as secondary control units or slaves, wherein preferably the secondary control units provide the movement of the mover in feedback and/or together with the primary control unit.
15. The logistics surface according to claim 13 , characterized in that the control unit defined as the primary control unit is configured to, via the control units surrounding and/or adjacent to planar unit(s) which is/are relevant for the driving order and/or driving command, request, reserve, and/or incorporate into the provision of the movement of the relevant mover these planar unit(s), in particular in regard to functionality, occupation by at least one obstacle and/or by at least one other, in particular second, mover, an/or in regard to at least one existing reservation and/or blockage, in particular by another, preferably prioritized, driving order and/or driving command, and/or to release no longer needed planar units and/or, preferably in feedback with the superior BLMCs and/or the superior control system or autonomously, in particular based on the result of the reservation and request of the relevant planar units, to adapt the movement of the mover and/or at least one driving command at least incrementally and/or request and/or reserve the necessary planar units in correspondence with the adaptation.
16. The logistics surface according to claim 13 , characterized in that the control unit defined as the primary control unit is configured to, during the carrying out of at least one driving order and/or driving command for a mover, preferably automatically, define a control unit as a subsequent primary control unit which is preferably at least partly covered by the relevant mover, in particular as soon as
(i) the surface of the planar unit and/or the at least one encoder of the control unit defined as the primary control unit is no longer covered by the mover and/or
(ii) the relevant mover has traversed a predetermined distance after which it is to be expected that the planar unit of the primary control unit is no longer sufficiently covered, wherein this is particularly the case if the relevant mover has traversed a distance which corresponds to the dimensions of a planar unit in the movement direction of the mover and/or
(iii) the encoder signal of the primary control unit falls short of a second threshold value, and/or
(iv) there is no remaining valid encoder signal, wherein preferably the control unit defined as the primary is configured to, preferably autonomously, after the definition of the subsequent primary control unit, relinquish its function as the primary control unit and/or preferably the control unit defined as the subsequent primary control unit is configured to define the control unit(s) of the reserved and/or requested planar unit(s) as new secondary control units or planar unit(s), preferably
(a) after the surface of the reserved planar unit(s) is covered at least partly by the relevant mover, and/or
(b) to take on as secondary control units the at least partly covered planar units and defined as secondary control units and/or preferably
the control unit defined as the subsequent primary control unit is configured to release the control unit defined as the primary control unit or to define it as a secondary control unit.
17. The logistics surface according to claim 16 , characterized in that the second threshold value of the encoder signal is a signal amplitude or the like and/or a measure for signal stability, preferably the signal-to-noise ratio or the like, and/or corresponds to one of the one or more threshold values.
18. The logistics surface according to claim 16 , characterized in that the control unit defined as the primary control unit is configured to select the subsequent primary control unit based on an evaluation of the encoder signals of the planar units incorporated into the movement, wherein preferably the control unit of a planar unit which is involved in the movement of the mover which delivers the most suitable valid encoder signal, is defined as the next primary control unit, wherein preferably the most suitable valid encoder signal among the valid encoder signals is determined at least in consideration of at least one second criterion such as: signal stability, signal strength and/or the signal strength and/or signal stability of the encoders of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units which are or are to be at least partially covered by the mover and/or located in movement direction, in particular in the movement direction of the next movement increment, preferably the first criterion.
19. The logistics surface according to claim 13 , characterized in that the superior control system is configured to carry out a detection of position and/or positioning and/or a size detection and/or a dimension detection of a mover by at least one calibration process, wherein preferably at least one encoder signal of the planar units at least partially covered by the relevant mover is evaluated by the superior control system, wherein in particular the encoder signal is compared to the one or more first threshold values.
20. The logistics surface according to claim 13 , characterized in that the superior control system is configured to detect the dimensions and/or the position and/or positioning of the mover by analyzing the change of at least one encoder signal depending on at least one corresponding oscillating forward or backward and/or lateral movement of the mover, wherein preferably at least one encoder signal of at least one adjacent planar unit which only delivers a corresponding encoder signal through the movement steps is incorporated.
21. The logistics surface according to claim 12 , characterized in that the superior control system is configured to collect the read-out or evaluated signals of the encoder or of the sensor array of the encoder for a plurality of planar units and/or to combine them into groups, preferably into groups corresponding to a mover, by means of at least one algorithm.
22. The logistics surface according to claim 21 , characterized in that the superior control system is configured to carry out a position and/or positioning determination of the mover, preferably using further data, in particular dimensions of the mover or other predetermined parameters, according to the signals of the encoder and/or of the sensor array of the encoder of the plurality of planar units combined into groups.
23. The logistics surface according to claim 12 , characterized in that the superior control system is configured to assign individual movers to a grouping, preferably to define movers of any size and/or logical groupings of a plurality of individual and/or new grouped movers and/or to simultaneously issue and/or manage driving orders for several movers and/or connected movers, in particular to carry out a prioritization of the driving orders and to forward it to the BLMC and/or the primary control units.
24. The logistics surface according to claim 8 , characterized in that at least a part of the control units of at least a part of the corresponding adjacent and/or surrounding planar units at least
(i) convey some of the signals of the encoders, the raw encoder signals of the pre-processed encoder signals, in particular the time derivative of encoder signals, and/or data associated with the encoder signals, in particular a measure of the signal stability or the like, preferably a signal-to-noise ratio, to the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit, wherein preferably the signals of the encoders of adjacent and/or surrounding planar units are conveyed which have a common edge with the at least one planar unit,
(ii) convey additional information which is relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or changing of the position and/or positioning of a mover over the at least one planar unit, in particular during the carrying out of a driving command in which the planar unit is involved, and/or
(iii) the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to link the conveyed encoder signals and the additional information in order to assess an association of the received encoder signals through the at least one control unit as relevant or not relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or changing of the position and/or positioning of the one mover.
25. The logistics surface according to claim 24 , characterized in that the additional information comprises one or more of the following pieces of information:
(i) whether the respective adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit is incorporated into the driving command for the same mover as the at least one planar unit and/or control unit;
(ii) at least one current status relating to an incorporation of the respective adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit into driving commands for other movers and/or an occupation by other movers, obstacles, and/or other objects on the logistics surface, and/or
(iii) future reservations for other driving commands and/or error messages.
26. The logistics surface according to claim 24 , characterized in that the control unit defined as the primary control unit is configured to provide the additional information according to claim 15 to the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit.
27. The logistics surface according to claim 24 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to evaluate the signal of the at least one encoder and/or the encoder signals of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit(s) together or separately in order to determine the positioning and/or position and/or to determine the change in position and/or positioning, in particular during a movement of the one mover over the at least one planar unit, wherein the at least one control unit is preferably configured to select at least one encoder signal from the group of the encoder signals of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units and/or the encoder signals of the at least one planar unit by means of the at least one algorithm and/or based on at least one first criterion such as signal stability, signal strength and/or signal strength and/or signal stability of the encoder of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units which are or are to be at least partially covered by the mover and/or located in movement direction, in particular in the movement direction of the next movement increment, wherein preferably this selection is limited to the encoder signals determined as relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or change of position and/or positioning of the one mover and/or this selection occurs in particular in real time, preferably on the respective control unit of the at least one planar unit.
28. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to, in at least one first step, to check whether one of the one or more encoder signals, which are detected by the at least one planar unit of the at least one encoder of the planar unit, exceed a first or a second limit and/or one or more first threshold values, wherein preferably the one or the more first threshold values are defined as signal amplitudes or the like and/or a measure of the signal stability, preferably the signal-to-noise ratio or the like; and/or
in at least one second step, in particular if none of the at least one encoder signal of the encoder comprised by the planar unit are valid, rely on at least one relevant signal of the encoders of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units, wherein preferably the relevant encoder signal of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units which has the greatest signal quality and/or strength/amplitude is accepted instead of the invalid signal of the at least one encoder of the planar unit.
29. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to give more weight to or exclusively consider at least one of the encoder signals within an already driven and/or targeted trajectory, driving route, and/or movement and/or one or more driving steps and/or partial routes.
30. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to determine at least one effective encoder signal from at least a part or from the entirety of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units.
31. The logistics surface according to claim 30 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to determine the effective encoder signal either individually or in combination, preferably by message and/or an interpolation and/or pattern recognition, from the encoder signals of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units, in particular those planar units which
(i) deliver relevant encoder signals;
(ii) are and/or were incorporated into the current driving step of the one mover, wherein in particular planar units which are located in or against the driving direction of the one mover are given more weight.
32. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to consider the signals of the at least one encoder of the at least one planar unit and/or to allow them to factor in to the determination of the position and/or positioning of the one mover, wherein, in combination or individually, the effective encoder signal is used for the positioning determination of the one mover over the at least one planar unit.
33. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to determine the change of position and/or positioning of the one mover over a planar unit, in particular by the encoder signals which change over time, preferably via an evaluation of at least one derivative and/or a plurality of derivatives, in particular a time derivative, of the encoder signal of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit(s) and/or of the at least one planar unit, in that this/these is or are set in geometrical relation to the logistics surface and/or the one mover of which the change in position and/or positioning is detected.
34. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to use the effective encoder signal in order to detect and/or to track changes in position and/or positioning of the one mover, wherein, to this end, preferably
(i) at least one time change and/or derivative of the encoder signal is evaluated and/or
(ii) the at least one planned and/or already carried out changes in position and/or positioning of the driving and/or movement step and/or of the partial route to be carried out or already carried out is considered for the purpose of improved detection of changes in position and/or positioning, and/or
(iii) the effective encoder signal is incorporated into the detection of position and/or positioning and/or detection of changes in position and/or positioning, which are preferably supported by and/or based on machine learning and/or artificial intelligence.
35. The logistics surface according to claim 27 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit and/or the at least one drive unit of the at least one planar unit comprises and/or comprise at least one drive controller and/or the at least one control unit comprises at least one movement step planner/trajectory planner, which preferably processes the partial route of the one mover and drives the drive controller correspondingly.
36. The logistics surface according to claim 35 , characterized in that the drive controller comprises at least two, preferably three individual controller elements, selected from: at least one position or positioning controller, at least one revolution speed/speed controller, and at least one power/current controller, wherein preferably, by means of these controller elements, respective corresponding regulating circuits of the drive unit, in particular for controlling thrust or traction, rotations or speed and/or the position or positioning, are controllable.
37. The logistics surface according to claim 35 , characterized in that the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit is configured to:
(i) carry out, by means of the trajectory planner, the trajectory planning or driving order planning for determining the next driving step and/or movement increment of a partial route;
(ii) in particular based thereon, carry out the controlling of the at least one drive unit via the drive controller; and/or
(iii) use the own encoder signals of a planar unit or of the effective encoder signal in order to track the change in position and/or positioning of the mover and/or to control and/or adapt the regulation circuits correspondingly to the determined change in position and/or positioning, wherein preferably the respective regulation circuits are centrally regulated by the primary control unit or the master and/or are individually regulated by the relative control units of the slaves, wherein, particularly preferably, the position regulator is centrally controlled via the primary control unit.
38. The logistics surface according to claim 1 , characterized in that the planar unit comprises at least one, preferably two and/or a plurality of, drive unit(s) which is/are in particular configured to transfer the movement of a partial region of the mover or of the movers covering the planar unit over the planar unit, wherein preferably the movement directions transferred by the drive units run orthogonally to each other and/or the drive unit(s) is/are an electromagnetic drive unit.
39. The logistics surface according to claim 38 , characterized in that the at least one drive unit is connected to the at least one control unit via at least one second communication interface, preferably in order to be drivable by the at least one control unit and/or to be provided with energy via the same.
40. A computer program product, comprising commands which, when the program is run, in particular by a logistics surface according to claim 1 , cause at least one logistics surface to carry out the method/the steps of the method.
41. A method for operating at least one logistics surface comprising a plurality of planar units with at least one mover or at least a grouping of movers which at least partially cover a planar unit, comprising:
detecting at least one output signal amplitude of sensors of at least one sensor array of at least one encoder of the planar unit;
determining at least one first difference between at least two output signal amplitudes; and
checking if the at least one first difference is within at least one first limit,
or
detecting at least one magnetic flow or field strength and/or at least one other signal of the sensors of the sensor array of the at least one encoder of the planar unit, which is induced and/or generated by the covering of a sensor by the mover;
determining at least one second difference between at least one output signal of the at least one sensor of the sensor array resulting from the detected magnetic flow and/or the other signal, on the one hand, and a background value on the other hand; and
checking if the at least one second difference is within at least one second limit.
42. The method according to claim 41 , characterized in that the first limit is at most 20%, preferably at most 10%, particularly preferably at most 7% of one of the detected output signal amplitudes and/or the second limit corresponds to at least 20%, preferably at least 10%, particularly 7% of the background value.
43. The method according to claim 41 , characterized in that the method further comprises
forwarding, preferably in real time, the signals of the encoder or the sensor array detected and/or evaluated by at least one control unit of the planar unit to at least one BLMC and/or preferably collecting the signals for each planar unit affiliated to the BLMC;
forwarding the signals to at least one superior control system;
receiving at least some of the signals of the encoder, in particular of the raw encoder signals, of the preprocessed encoder signals, in particular the time derivative of encoder signals, and/or data associated with the encoder signals, in particular a measure of the signal stability or the like, preferably a signal-to-noise ratio, of at least some of the respective adjacent and/or surrounding planar units;
receiving additional information which is relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or changes in position and/or positioning of a mover or mover grouping over the at least one planar unit, in particular during the carrying out of a driving command in which the planar unit is involved; and/or
linking the at least some of the received signals of the encoder and the additional information in order to allocate the encoder signals received by the least one control unit as relevant or not relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or changes in the position and/or positioning of the one mover.
44. The method according to claim 43 , characterized in that the method further comprises
evaluating, via the at least one control unit, the signal of the at least one encoder and/or one of the encoder signals received by the adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit(s), together or separately in order to determine the positioning and/or position and/or to determine the change in position and/or positioning, in particular during a movement of the one mover over the at least one planar unit, wherein preferably the evaluation comprises a selection which occurs by means of at least one algorithm and/or based on at least one first criterion such as signal stability, signal strength and/or signal strength and/or signal stability of the encoder of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units, which are or are to be at least partially covered by the mover and/or located in movement direction, in particular in the movement direction of the next movement increment, at least one encoder signal from the group of the encoder signals of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units and/or the encoder signals of the at least one planar unit, wherein preferably this selection is limited to the encoder signals determined as relevant for the position and/or positioning and/or change of position and/or positioning of the one mover and/or this selection occurs in particular in real time, preferably on the respective control unit of the at least one planar unit.
45. The method according to claim 44 , characterized in that the method further comprises
checking, in at least a first step, whether one of the one or more encoder signals which are received by the at least one planar unit of the at least one encoder of the planar unit exceeds a first or a second limit and/or one or more first threshold values, wherein preferably the one or more threshold values are defined as signal amplitudes or the like and/or a measure for the signal stability, preferably the signal-to-noise ratio or the like; and/or
relying on, in at least a second step, in particular if, in particular if none of the at least one encoder signal of the encoder comprised by the planar unit are valid, at least one relevant signal of the encoders of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units, wherein preferably the relevant encoder signal of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units, which has the greatest signal quality and/or strength/amplitude, is accepted instead of the invalid signal of the at least one encoder of the planar unit.
46. The method according to claim 44 , characterized in that the method further comprises
giving more weight to or exclusively considering at least one of the encoder signals within an already driven and/or targeted trajectory, driving route, and/or movement and/or one or more driving steps and/or partial routes, by the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit.
47. The method according to claim 44 , characterized in that the method further comprises
considering and/or determining, by the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit, the position and/or positioning of the one mover of the or by the signals of the at least one encoder of the at least one planar unit, wherein, in combination or individually, the effective encoder signal is used for the positioning determination of the one mover over the at least one planar unit.
48. The method according to claim 44 , characterized in that the method further comprises
determining the change of position and/or positioning of the one mover over the at least one planar unit, in particular by the encoder signals which change over time, by the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit preferably via an evaluation of at least one derivative and/or a plurality of derivatives, in particular a time derivative, of the encoder signal of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar unit(s) and/or of the at least one planar unit, in that this/these is or are set in geometrical relation to the logistics surface and/or the one mover, of which the change in position and/or positioning is detected.
49. The method according to claim 44 , characterized in that the method further comprises
carrying out, by means of the trajectory planner comprised by the at least one control unit, the trajectory planning or driving order planning for determining the next driving step and/or movement increment of a partial route and/or driving command, and, in particular based thereon, carrying out the controlling of the at least one drive unit via the drive controller; and/or
controlling and/or adapting the regulation circuits and/or tracking the change in position and/or positioning of the mover using the own encoder signals of a planar unit or of the effective encoder signal corresponding to the determined change in position and/or positioning, wherein preferably the respective regulation circuits are centrally regulated by the primary control unit or the master and/or are individually regulated by the relative control units of the slaves, wherein, particularly preferably, the position regulator is centrally controlled via the primary control unit.
50. The method according to claim 43 , characterized in that the method further comprises
determining, by the at least one control unit of the at least one planar unit, at least one effective encoder signal from at least a part or from the entirety of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units.
51. The method according to claim 43 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
generating at least one driving command and/or at least one partial route for the at least one mover, wherein the generating preferably occurs based on at least one driving order provided by at least one superior control system and/or at least one enterprise resource planning system (ERPS) and/or the generating occurs by at least one or more bottom layer motion controllers (BLMC(s)) and/or at least one control unit.
52. The method according to claim 51 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
defining, by the superior control system and/or the BLMC, at least one control unit of at least one planar unit, which is at least partly covered and/or at least one encoder of which is at least partly covered by the mover, as the primary control unit or master for each mover associated with a driving command and/or driving order and preferably organizing the control units necessary for the carrying out of the driving command and/or the partial route and distributing the information relevant to the driving command and/or the partial route by the control unit defined as the primary control unit.
53. The method according to claim 52 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
defining at least one further control unit of at least one planar unit, preferably of at least one control unit surrounding the primary control unit and/or the primary planar unit which is at least partly covered by the mover, as a secondary control unit or slave, in particular by the control unit defined as the primary control unit, and preferably providing the movement of the mover by the secondary control units in feedback and/or together with the primary control unit.
54. The method according to claim 52 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
requesting, reserving and/or incorporating into the provision of the movement of the relevant mover of the planar unit(s) which is/are relevant for the driving command and/or the partial route by the control unit defined as the primary control unit, in particular via the control units surrounding and/or adjacent to planar unit(s), preferably based on functionality, occupation by at least one obstacle and/or by at least one other, in particular second, mover, an/or based on at least one existing reservation and/or blockage, in particular by another, preferably prioritized, driving command, and/or releasing no longer needed planar units and/or control units, preferably adapting, in feedback with the superior BLMCs and/or the superior control system or autonomously, in particular based on the result of the reservation and request of the relevant planar units, preferably to adapt the movement of the mover at least incrementally and/or to request in correspondence to the adaptation and/or to reserve necessary planar units.
55. The method according to claim 52 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
defining at least one control unit as a subsequent primary control unit, which is preferably at least partly covered by the relevant mover, preferably automatically, by the control unit defined as the primary control unit, during the carrying out of at least one driving order and/or driving command for a mover, in particular as soon as
(i) the surface of the planar unit and/or the at least one encoder of the control unit defined as the primary control unit is no longer covered by the mover;
(ii) the relevant mover has traversed a predetermined distance after which it is to be expected that the planar unit of the primary control unit is no longer sufficiently covered, wherein this is particularly the case if the relevant mover has traversed a distance which corresponds to the dimensions of a planar unit in the movement direction of the mover and/or
(iii) the encoder signal of the primary control unit falls short of a second threshold value and/or
(iv) no longer has a valid encoder signal.
56. The method according to claim 55 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
relinquishing, by the control unit defined as the primary one, preferably autonomously, the function as the primary control unit after the definition of the subsequent primary control unit, and/or
defining the control unit(s) of the reserved and/or requested planar unit(s) as new secondary control units or planar unit(s) by the control unit defined as the subsequent primary control unit, preferably after the surface of the reserved planar unit(s) is at least partly covered by the relevant mover, and/or
assuming the planar units which are still at least partly covered and are defined as secondary control units as secondary control units by the control unit defined as the subsequent primary control unit, and/or preferably releasing or defining as a secondary control unit the control unit defined as the primary control unit by the control unit defined as the subsequent primary control unit.
57. The method according to claim 55 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
selecting the subsequent primary control unit by the control unit defined as the primary control unit based on an evaluation of the encoder signals of the planar units incorporated into the movement, wherein preferably the at least one control unit of a planar unit which is involved in the movement of the mover and which delivers the most suitable encoder signal is defined as the next primary control unit, wherein preferably the most suitable encoder signal out of the valid encoder signals is determined in consideration of at least one second criterion such as signal stability, signal strength and/or the signal strength and/or signal stability of the encoders of the adjacent and/or surrounding planar units which are or are to be at least partially covered by the mover and/or are located in the movement direction, in particular in the movement direction of the next movement increment, preferably the first criterion.
58. The method according to claim 55 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
carrying out a determination of position and/or positioning and/or determination of size and/or determination of dimensions of a mover by the superior control system via a calibration process, wherein preferably at least one encoder signal of the planar units at least partially covered by the relevant mover is evaluated by the superior control system, wherein in particular the encoder signal is compared to one or more first threshold values.
59. The method according to claim 55 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
detecting the dimensions and/or the position and/or positioning of the mover by the superior control system by analyzing the change of at least one encoder signal depending on at least one corresponding oscillating forward or backward and/or lateral movement of the mover, wherein preferably at least one encoder signal of at least one adjacent planar unit which only delivers a corresponding encoder signal through the movement steps is incorporated.
60. The method according to claim 43 , characterized in that the method further comprises:
assigning a plurality of individual movers to at least one grouping, preferably movers of any size, in particular by the superior control system,
defining logical groupings of a plurality of individual and/or new grouped movers, in particular by the superior control system, and/or,
preferably simultaneously, issuing and/or managing driving commands and/or driving orders for several movers and/or connected movers, in particular prioritizing the driving commands and/or driving orders and forwarding them to the primary control units.
61. The method according to claim 41 , characterized in that the method further comprises
collecting and/or summarizing the detected and/or evaluated signals of the encoder and/or the sensor array of the encoder into at least one group, in particular by means of at least one algorithm, preferably into groups which correspond to a mover, preferably for a plurality of planar units, by the superior control system.
62. The method according to claim 61 , characterized in that the method further comprises
determining, by the superior control system, at least one position and/or positioning of the mover, preferably using further data, in particular dimensions of the mover or other predetermined parameters, according to the signals of the encoder and/or of the sensor array of the encoder of the plurality of planar units combined into at least one group.
63. A control unit for processing at least one encoder signal of a planar unit comprising at least one encoder, wherein the encoder has at least one sensor array for determining the position and/or positioning of at least one mover comprising magnets arranged in at least one pole pitch grid; and the planar unit is arranged in a surface of a plurality of planar units such that the encoders of the planar units form at least one grid which is at least partly uniform, wherein the spacing of the encoders of at least two planar units and/or of at least two encoders of one planar unit corresponds to a multiple of, in particular a natural, real and/or rational multiple of, pole pair widths of the magnets of the at least one mover.
64. The control unit according to claim 63 , characterized in that the control unit processes the encoder signals in such a way as to cause a logistics surface, in particular by a logistics surface, to carry out a method and/or at least one step, preferably a plurality of steps of the steps of the method.