Method and apparatus for safe CT scanner button presses
First Claim
1. A method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a serial network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is pressed and generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is not pressed;
communicating the status messages to the master node via the network;
determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages; and
triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is, in one embodiment, a method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node. This method includes steps of: generating status messages indicative of a push button states at each of push button node; communicating the status messages to the master node via the network; determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages; and triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a serial network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is pressed and generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is not pressed;
communicating the status messages to the master node via the network;
determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages; and
triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
and wherein triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons comprises mirroring the statuses via the plurality of I/O ports. -
5. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the network is a two-wire network comprising a plurality of push-button nodes, and communicating the status messages to the master node via the network comprises communicating the status messages to the master node via the two wires of the network.
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6. A method in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising the steps of the master node addressing and communicating a display message to a display node;
- and the addressed display node producing a display in accordance with the communicated display message.
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7. A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the master node addressing and communicating a display message to a display node comprising the step of the master node selectively generating and including a checksum with critical display messages.
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8. A method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a serial network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes, wherein the status messages are generated periodically at each of the push button nodes;
communicating the status messages to the master node via the network;
determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages, wherein generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes comprises the step of generating, at each of the push button nodes, a checksum value included in the status message generated at the push button node; and
validating the checksum values at the master node to confirm that the master node is receiving valid status messages.
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9. A method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a serial network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes, wherein the status messages are generated periodically at each of the push button nodes;
communicating the status messages to the master node via the network;
determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages;
generating, when a push button is pressed, a signal unique to the pressed push button and a signal representing a logical combination of states of all of the push buttons of a push button node on which the pressed push button is located; and
performing a redundancy check on the pressed push button using the signal representing the logical combination of states, at the push button node on which the pressed push button is located. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically on a serial network from one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, to a master node, wherein the master node is hard-wired to a critical button of a push button node, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes, wherein the status messages are generated periodically at each of the push button nodes;
communicating the status messages to the master node via the network;
determining, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
triggering a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages;
immediately communicating a signal indicative of the at least one critical button being pressed separately from the generated status messages; and
immediately triggering a response of the master node in accordance with the immediately communicated signal;
said immediate communication and said immediate triggering occurring within a time less than a period of the periodically generated status messages.
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12. A system for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically, said system comprising a serial network of one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, and a master node, said system configured to:
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generate status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is pressed and generate status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes when the at least one push button is not pressed;
communicate the status messages to the master node via the wired network;
determine, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated states messages; and
trigger a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
and wherein said system being configured to trigger a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons comprises said system being configured to mirror the statuses via the plurality of I/O ports. -
16. A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the wired network is a serially-connected network.
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17. A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the wired network is a parallel-connected network.
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18. A system in accordance with claim 12 and further comprising a watchdog timer at each of the push button nodes and the master node configured to guard against firmware errors.
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19. A system in accordance with claim 12 wherein each push button is configured to be active high.
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20. A system in accordance with claim 12 further comprising a display, and further wherein the master node is configured to address and communicate a display message to the display;
- and the addressed display is configured to produce a display in accordance with the communicated display message.
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21. A system in accordance with claim 20 wherein the display is incorporated in a push button node.
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22. A system in accordance with claim 20 further comprising a display node in which the display is incorporated.
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23. A system in accordance with claim 20 wherein the master node is further configured to selectively generate and include a checksum with critical display messages addressed to the display.
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24. A system in accordance with claim 12 in a CT imaging system.
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25. A system in accordance with claim 24 wherein the CT imaging system includes a gantry, and at least some of said push buttons are mounted on the gantry.
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26. A system in accordance with claim 25 wherein said wired network comprises a controller area network bus.
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27. A system for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically, said system comprising a serial network of one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, and a master node, said system configured to:
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periodically generate status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes;
communicate the status messages to the master node via the wired network;
determine, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
trigger a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages;
generate, at each of the push button nodes, a checksum value included in the status message generated at the push button node; and
validate the checksum values at the master node to confirm that the master node is receiving valid status messages.
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28. A system for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically, said system comprising a serial network of one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, and a master node, said system configured to:
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periodically generate status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes;
communicate the status messages to the master node via the wired network;
determine, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
trigger a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages;
generate, when a push button is pressed, a signal unique to the pressed push button and a signal representing a logical combination of states of all of the push buttons of a posh button node on which the pressed push button is located; and
perform a redundancy check on the pressed push button using the signal representing the logical combination of states, at the push button node on which the pressed push button is located. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A system for efficiently and reliably communicating button presses electronically, said system comprising a serial network of one or more push button nodes each having at least one push button, and a master node hard-wired to a critical button of a push button node, said system configured to:
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periodically generate status messages indicative of a state of the at least one push button at each of the push button nodes;
communicate the status messages to the master node via the wired network;
determine, at the master node, the state of the push buttons at each of the push button nodes from the communicated status messages;
trigger a response of the master node, in accordance with the statuses of the push buttons determined from the communicated status messages;
immediately communicate a signal indicative of the at least one critical button being pressed separately from the generated status messages; and
immediately trigger a response of the master node in accordance with the immediately communicated signal;
said system further configured such that the immediate communication and immediate triggering occurs within a time less than a period of the periodically generated status messages.
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Specification