Automation equipment control system
First Claim
1. A control system for processing a program of instructions for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint and a position feedback sensor, the mechanical actuator being adapted to receive an activation signal and the feedback sensor providing a position signal, the control system comprising:
- a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of the program of instructions and to generate a plurality of move commands; and
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator and the position feedback sensor, said real-time computer subsystem including a move command data buffer for storing said plurality of move commands, a move module linked to said data buffer to sequentially process said plurality of move commands and calculate a required position for the mechanical joint.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A automation equipment control system comprises a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system in electronic communication with a real-time computer subsystem. The general purpose computer includes a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of a program of equipment instructions and to generate a plurality of move commands. The real-time computer subsystem includes a move command data buffer for storing the plurality of move commands, a move module linked to the data buffer for sequentially processing the moves and calculating a required position for a mechanical joint. The real-time computer subsystem also includes a dynamic control algorithm in software communication with the move module to repeatedly calculate a required actuator activation signal from a joint position feedback signal.
-
Citations
34 Claims
-
1. A control system for processing a program of instructions for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint and a position feedback sensor, the mechanical actuator being adapted to receive an activation signal and the feedback sensor providing a position signal, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of the program of instructions and to generate a plurality of move commands; and
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator and the position feedback sensor, said real-time computer subsystem including a move command data buffer for storing said plurality of move commands, a move module linked to said data buffer to sequentially process said plurality of move commands and calculate a required position for the mechanical joint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
9. A control system suitable for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the control system comprising:
-
an equipment-independent computer unit including a video display and a first digital processor adapted to run an operator interface module for creating a move command; and
an equipment-specific controller unit operably linked to the automation equipment including a move module for executing said move command, said equipment-specific controller unit being in electronic communication with said equipment-independent computer unit. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. An operator interface module for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the operator interface module comprising:
-
a first code segment for generating a first operator display according to a first electromechanical configuration;
a second code segment for generating a second operator display according to a second electromechanical configuration; and
a third segment for selecting said first or second code segment according to said electromechanical configuration. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
-
-
19. A control system suitable for controlling a plurality of automation devices, each device having a mechanical joint and a mechanical actuator to move the joint, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, the general purpose computer including a video display and a first digital processor adapted to run an operator interface module; and
a plurality of real-time computer subsystems each in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and each operably linked to one of said automation devices, each subsystem including a digital processor adapted to run a real-time tied operating system and a move module for executing move commands. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. An automated manipulation system for executing a program of instructions, the system comprising:
-
a manipulator having a mechanical joint, an actuator to move said joint and a position sensor, said actuator being adapted to receive an activation signal and said position sensor providing a position signal, a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of the program of instructions and to generate a plurality of move commands; and
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator and the position sensor, the real-time computer subsystem including a move command data buffer for storing said plurality of move commands, a move module linked to said data buffer to sequentially process said plurality of move commands and calculate a required position for the mechanical joint. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A control system for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint, the mechanical actuator being adapted to receive an activation signal, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system for providing an operator interface, said general purpose computer including a plurality of software processes;
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator, the real-time computer subsystem including a code segment algorithm for resetting said activation signal; and
a watchdog intercommunication between said real-time computer subsystem and said general purpose computer for detecting faults in operation of said general purpose computer.
-
-
28. A control system for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint, the mechanical actuator being adapted to receive an activation signal, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system for providing an operator interface, said general purpose computer including a plurality of software processes;
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator; and
a watchdog intercommunication between said real-time computer subsystem and at least two of said plurality of software processes for detecting interruption of the execution of said software processes. - View Dependent Claims (29)
-
-
30. A control system for processing a program of robot instructions for robots having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint and a position feedback sensor, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of the program of robot instructions and to generate a plurality of robot move commands; and
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator and the position feedback sensor, the real-time computer subsystem including a move command data buffer for storing said plurality of move commands, a robot move module linked to said data buffer to sequentially process said plurality of move commands and calculate a required position for the mechanical joint. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32)
-
-
33. A control system for processing a program of robot instructions for robots having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint and a position feedback sensor, the control system comprising:
-
a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, said general purpose computer including a program execution module to selectively start and stop processing of the program of robot instructions; and
a real-time computer subsystem in electronic communication with said general purpose computer and operably linked to the mechanical actuator and the position feedback sensor, the real-time computer subsystem including a move module to calculate required positions for the mechanical joint. - View Dependent Claims (34)
-
Specification