Synchronization of clocks in autonomous components of an MR system and synchronous execution of commands in those components
First Claim
1. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising the steps of:
- temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system;
transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification;
receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands;
at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and
transmitting said commands, including said command execution time specification, from a synchronization master to the respective local clocks, the respective transmissions from the synchronization master to the respective local clocks each having a signal delay associated therewith, and automatically taking said signal delay into account when temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a device and a method to execute commands in components of an imaging system, in particular of a magnetic resonance tomography system, local clocks in the components are temporally synchronized, commands, including a respective command execution time specification which respectively specifies at which point in time a command should be executed, are sent to the components, the commands are received by the components, commands and command execution time specifications that are received by components are stored in these components, and a stored command is respectively executed when a time indicated by the local clock coincides with the stored command execution time specification regarding the command.
12 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising the steps of:
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temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system; transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands; at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and transmitting said commands, including said command execution time specification, from a synchronization master to the respective local clocks, the respective transmissions from the synchronization master to the respective local clocks each having a signal delay associated therewith, and automatically taking said signal delay into account when temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising:
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transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands; at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and transmitting said commands, including said command execution time specification, via a ring-shaped transmission structure, to which the respective components are connected, from a central controller by transmitting two synchronization signals from said central controller in opposite directions via said ring-shaped transmission structure. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising:
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temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system; transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and transmitting said commands to the respective components independently of a sequence in which the commands are to be executed.
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15. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising:
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temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system; transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands; at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; at each component, storing the commands in a first memory at respective command addresses in said first memory; for the respective commands stored in said first memory, storing the respective command execution time specifications thereof in a second memory at respective command execution time specification addresses in said second memory that coincide with the respective command addresses in said first memory; and when the clock time at the local clock at said component coincides with any of the respective command execution time specifications stored in said second memory, outputting the command execution time specification address thereof from said second memory to a processor at said component and, from said processor, then retrieving the command from said first memory at the command address in said first memory that coincides with the command execution time specification address output from said second memory.
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16. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising:
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temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system; transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands; at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and at each component, storing said commands in a FIFO memory, and comparing the command execution time specification of a first command stored in said FIFO memory with a current clock time of the local clock at that component, and executing said first command when the command execution time specification thereof coincides with said current clock time.
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17. A method for executing commands in components of an imaging system, each of said components comprising a local clock, said method comprising:
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temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system; transmitting commands to the respective components and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; receiving the respective commands at the respective components and storing the respective received commands at the respective components, as stored commands; at each component, automatically retrieving and executing a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and at each component, storing said commands in a command memory, sorted according to the respective command execution time specifications thereof, in sequential read addresses, and executing said commands by reading the respective commands from said command memory at said read addresses. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component processor being configured to automatically retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and said controller being a synchronization master configured to transmit said commands, including said command execution time specification, to the respective local clocks, the respective transmissions from the synchronization master to the respective local clocks each having a signal delay associated therewith, and the respective component processors being configured to automatically take said signal delay into account when temporally synchronizing the respective local clocks. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component processor being configured to automatically retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; said controller being a central controller and said components forming a ring-shaped structure, said central controller being configured to transmit two synchronization signals from said central controller in opposite directions via said ring-shaped transmission structure. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component processor being configured to automatically retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and said controller being configured to transmit said commands to the respective components independently of a sequence in which the commands are to be executed.
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33. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component processor being configured to automatically retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and each memory comprising a first memory and a second memory and each component processor being configured to; store the commands in the first memory at respective command addresses in said first memory; for the respective commands stored in said first memory, store the respective command execution time specifications thereof in the second memory at respective command execution time specification addresses in said second memory that coincide with the respective command addresses in said first memory; and when the clock time at the local clock at said component coincides with any of the respective command execution time specifications stored in said second memory, retrieve the command execution time specification address thereof from said second memory to then retrieve the command from said first memory at the command address in said first memory that coincides with the command execution time specification address output from said second memory.
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34. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component configured retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and each memory being a FIFO memory, and each component processor being configured to compare the command execution time specification of a first command stored in said FIFO memory with a current clock time of the local clock at that component, and to execute said first command when the command execution time specification thereof coincides with said current clock time.
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35. An imaging system comprising:
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a plurality of components that respectively control operation of respective units that collectively operate to generate a medical image, each of said components comprising a local clock, a component processor, and a memory; a computerized controller configured to temporally synchronize the respective local clocks of said components in said imaging system, by transmitting commands to the respective component processors and including in the respective commands a command execution time specification that specifies a point in time at which the command should be executed that includes the respective command execution time specification; each component processor being configured to receive the respective commands transmitted thereto and to store the respective received commands in the memory at that component, as stored commands; each component processor being configured to automatically retrieve and execute a stored command when a point in time at the local clock at that component coincides with the command execution time specification of the stored command; and each component being configured to store said commands in the memory, sorted according to the respective command execution time specifications thereof, in sequential read addresses, and to execute said commands by reading the respective commands from said memory at said read addresses. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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Specification