Drive unit and method for using the drive unit to control a machine tool
First Claim
1. A drive unit for controlling a machine, with a plurality of components, each component comprising at least one component type and at least one component-specific function associated with the component, and a type-specific communication protocol associated with each component type, and a uniform communication module forming an interface,wherein at least one component of the plurality of components is hierarchically superior to the other components of the plurality of components, with the other components representing subordinate components, wherein the subordinate components communicate with the supervisory component via the respective type-specific communication protocol.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A drive unit for a machine, in particular a machine-tool, robot and the like, is described. The drive unit has several components, and each component has at least one associated component-specific function, and a uniform communication module that forms an interface with the other components. The interfaces of the various components can be connected by logical point-to-point connections or via a bus. Each component is designated with a particular type, and the communication between the components uses a type-specific communication protocol. A least one of the components is a hierarchically superior component.
5 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A drive unit for controlling a machine, with a plurality of components, each component comprising at least one component type and at least one component-specific function associated with the component, and a type-specific communication protocol associated with each component type, and a uniform communication module forming an interface,
wherein at least one component of the plurality of components is hierarchically superior to the other components of the plurality of components, with the other components representing subordinate components, wherein the subordinate components communicate with the supervisory component via the respective type-specific communication protocol.
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6. A method for controlling a machine, with a drive unit that includes a plurality of components, comprising the steps of:
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assigning a type to each of the components, assigning at least one component-specific function to each component type, associating a uniform communication module with each of the components, said communication module forming an interface, associating a type-specific communication protocol with each component type, designating at least one component of the plurality of components as being a hierarchically superior component, with the remaining components of the plurality of components being designated as subordinate components, and enabling communication between the superior component and the subordinate components via the type-specific communication protocol. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification