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 for receiving 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.
75 Citations
33 Claims
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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 for receiving an activation signal and the feedback sensor providing a position signal, the control system comprising:
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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)
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9. A control system suitable for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the control system comprising:
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an equipment-independent computer unit including a video display and a first digital processor for running an operator interface module for creating a move command; and
an equipment-specific controller unit operably linked to the automation equipment including a second digital processor adapted to run a real-time tied operating system and 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)
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11. A control system suitable for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the control system comprising:
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an equipment-independent computer unit including a video display and a first digital processor for running 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 wherein said equipment-independent computer unit and said equipment-specific controller unit are electronically linked via a data bus selected from the group consisting of an ISA bus, a PCI bus, a VME bus, a universal-serial-bus (USB) and an Ethernet connection.
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12. A control system suitable for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the control system comprising:
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an equipment-independent computer unit including a video display and a first digital processor for running an operator interface module for creating a move command;
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;
a configuration variable for storing data specifying the electromechanical configuration of the automation equipment;
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 code segment for selecting said first or second code segment according to said electromechanical configuration. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. An operator interface module for controlling automation equipment of different electromechanical configurations, the operator interface module comprising:
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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 (16, 17)
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18. 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:
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a general purpose computer with a general purpose operating system, the general purpose computer including a video display and a first digital processor for running 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 for running a real-time tied operating system and a move module for executing move commands. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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22. An automated manipulation system for executing a program of instructions, the system comprising:
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a manipulator having a mechanical joint, an actuator to move said joint and a position sensor, said actuator for receiving 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 (23, 24, 25)
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26. A control system for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint, the mechanical actuator for receiving an activation signal, the control system comprising:
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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.
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27. A control system for automation equipment having a mechanical joint, a mechanical actuator to move the joint, the mechanical actuator for receiving an activation signal, the control system comprising:
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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 (28)
a plurality of activity software switches each having an active position and an unset position;
a status code segment in each of said plurality of software process for repeatedly setting a predetermined one of said activity software switches to said active position;
a timer variable for storing an elapsed time indication;
a timer code segment for adjusting said timer variable according to passing time;
a timer reset code segment installed in said real-time computer subsystem for repeatedly resetting said timer variable to a predetermined amount of time when all of said plurality of activity software switches are in said active position and repeatedly resetting said plurality of activity software switches to said unset position; and
a fail safe code segment installed in said real-time computer subsystem for repeatedly inspecting said timer variable and setting said activation signal to shut down the robot if said timer variable reaches a predetermined value.
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29. 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:
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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 (30, 31)
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32. 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:
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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 (33)
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Specification