Controlled device, controller, information control center, initialization-allowing communication system, and communication control system and medium

• US 6,584,364 B1
• Filed: 09/24/1998
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Iwamoto, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garland, Steven R.
• Application Number:
  US09/160,766
• Time in Patent Office: 1,734 Days
• Field of Search: 700/2, 700/11, 700/17, 700/9, 700/19, 700/20, 700/83, 700/275, 700/276, 700/286, 700/295, 707/104.1, 340/825.24, 340/7.1, 340/7.24, 340/7.23, 340/825.49, 340/10.52, 710/9, 710/10, 710/15, 370/254, 379/100-109
• US Class Current: 700/2
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0421 Multiprocessor system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

An initialization-allowing communication system is constituted with devices 70 and 80, a controller 400 for controlling the devices 70 and 80 through communication, and so on. Each device and the controller 400 are provided with communication means 31, a house code showing a setting place, a subsystem ID showing the ID of a subsystem in a set system, a device ID showing the type of device, and self-address setting-holding means 11 for holding a self-address constituted with a device number showing a device number and the controller 400 is further provided with system structure holding means 301 for holding the information concerned with the system structure to be controlled and a communication-counterpart-address setting-holding means 401 for setting and holding the address of a counterpart to be communication-controlled obtained from the information concerned with the system structure.

Claims

1. An initialization-allowing communication system comprising:

a controlled device to be controlled;

a controller for controlling said controlled device; and

an information control center having a data base storing a plurality of pieces of combined information between said controller and the controlled device, wherein

said information control center transmits a piece of combined information to said controller after a transmission request from said controller to said information control center to transmit any one of said pieces of combined information,

said combined information includes information for a system structure of said controller and said controlled device having a similar setting ID code,

a system structure holding means which holds information showing that said combined information is sent to said controller,

said combined information is transmitted from one of said system structure holding means and said information control center when said transmission request is received,

said data base stores said pieces of combined information having setting, ID codes different from each other,

an external communication apparatus having said system structure holding means and an external communication medium for connecting said external communication apparatus with said information control center are included, and information for the system structure to be controlled by said controller received from said data base in said information control center through said external communication medium unless necessary information is held by said system structure holding means in said external communication apparatus.

2. The initialization-allowing communication system according to claim 1, wherein the data base of said information control center can be changed in accordance with the access from said external communication apparatus.

3. The initialization-allowing communication system according to claim 1, wherein

said information control center and said external communication apparatus are provided with enciphering-deciphering means for enciphering transmission contents on said external communication medium and deciphering reception contents.

4. An initialization-allowing communication system comprising:

a controlled device to be controlled;

a controlled for controlling controlled device; and

an information control center having a data base storing a plurality of pieces of combined information between said controller and the controlled device, wherein

said information control center transmits a piece of combined information to said controller after a transmission request from said controller to said information control center to transmit any one of said pieces of combined information,

said controller is provided with display means for displaying information transmitted to said controller and input means for designating selection of predetermined information out of said displayed information, and

contents of an address information for the controlled device held by said controller are selected and changed by using said display means and input means.

5. A method of initializing a controller for controlling a device comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a piece of combined information on the device at an information control center, the piece of combined information including information for controlling the device;

(b) detecting presence of the device by the controller;

(c) requesting by the controller the piece of combined information on the device, after detecting the presence of the device in step (b);

(d) transmitting by the information control center the piece of combined information on the device in response to the request by the controller in step (c);

(e) displaying by the controller the information transmitted in step (d) including address information for the device; and

(f) changing by the controller the address information stored in the device based on the piece of combined information transmitted in step (d) to permit the controller to control the device.