System for loading control information from peripheral devices which are represented as objects to a controller in a predetermined format in response to connection operation
First Claim
1. A control system comprising:
- a plurality of peripheral devices represented as objects; and
a controller connectable to said plurality of peripheral devices via a common communication line for unitarily controlling said plurality of peripheral devices,said controller being arranged to be connected to an arbitrary number of peripheral devices selected from among said plurality of peripheral devices, read control information stored in memory means of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line in response to a connecting operation with said selected peripheral devices and load the control information into a predetermined memory area of said controller in a predetermined format in response to the connecting operation so that said controller can control said arbitrary number of peripheral devices,said controller being also arranged to issue a command and transmit the command to each of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line.
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Abstract
A control system comprises a plurality of peripheral devices represented as objects, and a controller connectable to the plurality of peripheral devices via a common communication line for unitarily controlling the plurality of peripheral devices. The controller is arranged to be connected to an arbitrary number of peripheral devices selected from among the plurality of peripheral devices, read control information stored in the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line into a predetermined memory area of the controller in a predetermined format so that the controller can control the arbitrary number of peripheral devices. The controller is also arranged to issue a command and transmit the command to each of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A control system comprising:
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a plurality of peripheral devices represented as objects; and a controller connectable to said plurality of peripheral devices via a common communication line for unitarily controlling said plurality of peripheral devices, said controller being arranged to be connected to an arbitrary number of peripheral devices selected from among said plurality of peripheral devices, read control information stored in memory means of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line in response to a connecting operation with said selected peripheral devices and load the control information into a predetermined memory area of said controller in a predetermined format in response to the connecting operation so that said controller can control said arbitrary number of peripheral devices, said controller being also arranged to issue a command and transmit the command to each of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via the communication line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system control apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of peripheral devices represented as objects; and a controller for unitarily of controlling said plurality of peripheral devices via a common communication line, said controller and said plurality of peripheral devices each including a bi-directional interface for bi-directionally communicating data over the communication line, object data about control of a function of each of said plurality of peripheral devices being stored in memory means of a respective one of said plurality of peripheral devices in advance, said controller automatically loading in response to connecting to an arbitrary peripheral device selected from among said plurality of peripheral devices, the object data read out from the said memory means of arbitrary peripheral device to form an object corresponding to the arbitrary peripheral device and also to display under control of said controller an operating screen for operating the arbitrary peripheral device on the basis of the object data, said controller outputting an instruction to the communication line via the object in accordance with an operation based on the operating screen displayed on said controller, and controlling the arbitrary peripheral device. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A control method for controlling a plurality of peripheral devices represented as object, comprising steps of:
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reading control information stored in memory means of the arbitrary number of peripheral devices via a communication line in response to a connecting operation between a controller and said peripheral devices; and loading the control information, read in said reading step, into a predetermined memory area of said controller in a predetermined format. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A system control method comprising the steps of:
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representing a plurality of peripheral devices as objects; and controlling said plurality of peripheral devices via a common communication line, bi-directionally communicating data over the communication line, between said controller and said plurality of peripheral devices, storing object data about control of a function of each of said plurality of peripheral devices in memory means of a respective one of said plurality of peripheral devices in advance, automatically loading, in response to connecting an arbitrary peripheral device selected from among said plurality of peripheral devices to said controller, the object data read out from the said memory means of arbitrary peripheral device to form an object corresponding to the arbitrary peripheral device and also to display under control of said controller an operating screen for operating the arbitrary peripheral device on the basis of the object data, outputting from said controller an instruction to the communication line via the object in accordance with an operation based on the operation screen displayed on said controller, and controlling the arbitrary peripheral device. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification