Electrical control apparatus including a plurality of programmable modules
First Claim
1. A control apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of controlled elements;
a communication bus;
and a plurality of separate control modules each having;
connection to the communication bus for transmitting communications on and receiving communications from the bus;
a plurality of input terminals arranged for receiving at least one input from a respective one of said plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of output terminals at least one of which is arranged for connection to a respective one of the controlled elements;
a plurality of switches each associated with a respective one of the output terminals for effecting control of the respective controlled element;
a processor programmable so as to actuate the switches in response to data from the input terminals and in response to said communications on the communication bus in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the module;
the modules each having a different function such that each receives input from a different one or more of the sources of input data and each effects control of a different one or more of the controlled elements;
wherein said predetermined program is the same in each of the modules and includes a base program and an operating program portion having respective sub-portions thereof with each sub-portion arranged to control the function of the respective module in which the program is stored;
and wherein the modules and the predetermined program therein are arranged such that, at a predetermined condition of the apparatus, the processor of each module emits to the communication bus a signal indicative of the operating program portion stored in the respective module, such that there is effected a comparison of the emitted signals, and such that, in the event that the emitted signal of one of the modules is different from that of the others, a selected one of the others is arranged to download the operating program portion from said selected one to said different one.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical control system preferably for vehicles such as a transit vehicle is arranged with a plurality of separate modules each receiving input from a series of inputs and each providing a series of outputs so that the modules combined receive inputs from all of the control, transducer and other input elements of the vehicle and the modules as a whole provide output to all of the controlled elements of the vehicle. The modules communicate between one another via a communication bus and an operational program is installed in each of the modules so that all modules contain programming for the functions of each module. A replacement module is generic and thus can contain any operational program and thus can be used for many different designs of the system. As supplied, the module may contain an existing program or no operational program if not yet programmed. On a subsequent power-up after installation of the replacement module, a check program is run to determine that a replacement module is in place and to download the operational program from a selected one of the existing modules into the replacement module. This allows service personnel to readily install replacement modules without the necessity for dedication of the modules to specific design schemes.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A control apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of controlled elements;
a communication bus;
and a plurality of separate control modules each having;
connection to the communication bus for transmitting communications on and receiving communications from the bus;
a plurality of input terminals arranged for receiving at least one input from a respective one of said plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of output terminals at least one of which is arranged for connection to a respective one of the controlled elements;
a plurality of switches each associated with a respective one of the output terminals for effecting control of the respective controlled element;
a processor programmable so as to actuate the switches in response to data from the input terminals and in response to said communications on the communication bus in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the module;
the modules each having a different function such that each receives input from a different one or more of the sources of input data and each effects control of a different one or more of the controlled elements;
wherein said predetermined program is the same in each of the modules and includes a base program and an operating program portion having respective sub-portions thereof with each sub-portion arranged to control the function of the respective module in which the program is stored;
and wherein the modules and the predetermined program therein are arranged such that, at a predetermined condition of the apparatus, the processor of each module emits to the communication bus a signal indicative of the operating program portion stored in the respective module, such that there is effected a comparison of the emitted signals, and such that, in the event that the emitted signal of one of the modules is different from that of the others, a selected one of the others is arranged to download the operating program portion from said selected one to said different one. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of replacing a module in a control apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of controlled elements;
a communication bus;
and a plurality of separate control modules each having;
connection to the communication bus for transmitting communications on and receiving communications from the bus;
a plurality of input terminals arranged for receiving at least one input from a respective one of said plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of output terminals at least one of which is arranged for connection to a respective one of the controlled elements;
a plurality of switches each associated with a respective one of the output terminals for effecting control of the respective controlled element;
a processor programmable so as to actuate the switches in response to data from the input terminals and in response to said communications on the communication bus in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the module;
the modules each having a different function such that each receives input from a different one or more of the sources of input data and each effects control of a different one or more of the controlled elements;
wherein said predetermined program is the same in each of the modules and includes a base program and an operating program portion having respective sub-portions thereof with each sub-portion arranged to control the function of the respective module in which the program is stored;
the method comprising;
replacing one of the modules with a replacement module;
after replacement, at a predetermined condition of the apparatus, causing the processor of each module to emit to the communication bus a signal indicative of the operating program portion stored in the respective module;
causing the modules to effect a comparison of the emitted signals;
and, in the event that the emitted signal of one of the modules is different from that of the others, causing a selected one of the others to download the operating program portion from said selected one to said different one. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A control module for use in a control apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of controlled elements;
a communication bus;
and a plurality of the control modules, each control module comprising;
a terminal for connection to the communication bus for transmitting communications on and receiving communications from the bus;
a plurality of input terminals arranged for receiving at least one input from a respective one of said plurality of sources of input signals;
a plurality of output terminals at least one of which is arranged for connection to a respective one of the controlled elements;
a plurality of switches each associated with a respective one of the output terminals for effecting control of the respective controlled element;
a processor programmable so as to actuate the switches in response to data from the input terminals and in response to said communications on the communication bus in accordance with a predetermined program stored in the module;
the module being arranged such that each has a different function such that each receives input from a different one or more of the sources of input data and each effects control of a different one or more of the controlled elements;
the module being arranged such that said predetermined program is the same in each of the modules and includes a base program and an operating program portion having respective sub-portions thereof with each sub-portion arranged to control the function of the respective module in which the program is stored;
wherein the module and the predetermined program therein are arranged such that, at a predetermined condition of the apparatus, the processor of each module emits to the communication bus a signal indicative of the operating program portion stored in the respective module, such that there is effected a comparison of the emitted signals, and such that, in the event that the emitted signal of one of the modules is different from that of the others, a selected one of the others is arranged to download the operating program portion from said selected one to said different one.
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Specification