Automatic creation of motion control commands according to elements in drawing specifications and user input

• US 7,702,416 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2007
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Shivananda, Praveen, Ramchandani, Mahesh, Ravish, Sushrutha, Chandhoke, Sundeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Ramesh B
• Application Number:
  US11/941,140
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 700/18, 700 86- 87, 700/180, 700/182, 700186-187, 700/89, 700/181
• US Class Current: 700/181
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4097 characterised by using design data to control NC machines, e.g. CAD/CAM G05B19/4093 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35097 Generation of cutter path, offset curve
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35159 With nominal blank and model in memory define tool path and machine workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design

Abstract

A system and method for utilizing a drawing specification for motion control. A plurality of elements in the drawing specification may be automatically identified. The elements may include one or more lines, polygons, arcs, splines, alphanumeric characters, and/or ellipses. Additionally, the drawing specification may be a drawing or digital drafting file, such as an AutoCAD file, among others. An order of the plurality of elements may be automatically determined according to a sorting algorithm. The sorting algorithm may include a geometric and/or radial sorting algorithm. The radial sorting algorithm may specify the order of the elements according to nesting and/or distance from the center of the drawing specification. Code may be automatically generated for implementing motion control based on the identified elements and the determined order. The generated code may include inserted operations such as raise, lower, and move operations, among others.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing drawing specifications for use in motion control, comprising:

automatically identifying a plurality of elements in a drawing specification;

automatically determining an order of the plurality of elements according to a sorting algorithm; and

receiving user input specifying a modification to the order;

automatically generating program code for controlling operation of a motion control device based on said automatically identifying the plurality of elements, said automatically determining the order, and the modification to the order.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a geometric sorting algorithm.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a radial sorting algorithm which specifies the order of elements of the plurality of elements based on respective distances from a geometric center of the drawing specification for the plurality of elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatically generating program code comprises:

automatically inserting operations into the generated program code.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of elements compose one or more complex elements, wherein each complex element of the one or more complex elements comprises a subset of the plurality of elements.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated program code comprises one or more graphical programs, wherein each of the one or more graphical programs comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes that visually indicate functionality of the graphical program.

7. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving user input to a GUI specifying one or more constraints on the order of the plurality of elements; and

wherein said automatically determining the order comprises automatically determining the order based on the one or more constraints.

8. A computer accessible memory medium comprising program instructions for utilizing drawing specifications for use in motion control, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:

identify a plurality of elements in a drawing specification;

determine an order of the plurality of elements according to a sorting algorithm;

generate program code for controlling operation of a motion control device based on the plurality of elements identified in the drawing specification and the order;

receive user input specifying a modification to the order; and

modify the generated program code based on the modification to the order.

9. The memory medium of claim 8, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a geometric sorting algorithm.

10. The memory medium of claim 8, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a radial sorting algorithm which specifies the order of elements of the plurality of elements based on respective distances from a geometric center of the drawing specification for the plurality of elements.

11. The memory medium of claim 8, wherein the generated program code comprises one or more graphical programs, wherein each of the one or more graphical programs comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes that visually indicate functionality of the graphical program.

12. The memory medium of claim 8, wherein the program instructions are further executable to:

receive user input to a GUI specifying one or more constraints on the order of the plurality of elements; and

wherein the order is determined based on the one or more constraints.

13. A method for utilizing drawing specifications for use in motion control, comprising:

automatically identifying a plurality of elements in a drawing specification;

receiving user input specifying one or more constraints on an order of the plurality of elements;

automatically determining an order of the plurality of elements according to a sorting algorithm, wherein said automatically determining is performed based on the one or more constraints; and

automatically generating program code for controlling operation of a motion control device based on said automatically identifying the plurality of elements and said automatically determining the order.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a geometric sorting algorithm.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a radial sorting algorithm which specifies the order of elements of the plurality of elements based on respective distances from a geometric center of the drawing specification for the plurality of elements.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the generated program code comprises one or more graphical programs, wherein each of the one or more graphical programs comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes that visually indicate functionality of the graphical program.

17. A computer accessible memory medium comprising program instructions for utilizing drawing specifications for use in motion control, wherein the program instructions are executable by a processor to:

identify a plurality of elements in a drawing specification;

receive user input specifying one or more constraints on an order of the plurality of elements;

determine an order of the plurality of elements according to a sorting algorithm and based on the one or more constraints; and

generate program code for controlling operation of a motion control device based on the plurality of elements identified in the drawing specification and the order.

18. The memory medium of claim 17, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a geometric sorting algorithm.

19. The memory medium of claim 17, wherein the sorting algorithm comprises a radial sorting algorithm which specifies the order of elements of the plurality of elements based on respective distances from a geometric center of the drawing specification for the plurality of elements.

20. The memory medium of claim 17, wherein the plurality of elements compose one or more complex elements, wherein each complex element of the one or more complex elements comprises a subset of the plurality of elements.