Synchronous data communication

• US 8,838,270 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2011
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Druke, Michael B., Jacques, Christopher J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOTT, ADAM R
• Application Number:
  US13/280,150
• Publication Number:
  US 20120039162A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,058 Days
• Field of Search: 370/242, 701/245, 701/247, 701/250, 701/255, 701/256, 701/257, 701/258, 901/6, 901/8, 901/9, 901/10, 901/15
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0083 Formatting with frames or packets; Protocol or part of protocol for error control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1664 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with payload signals; piggybacking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1671 the supervisory signal being transmitted together with control information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1854 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/263 Rate modification at the source after receiving feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/35 by embedding flow control information in regular packets, e.g. piggybacking

Abstract

A data packet is provided that includes a synchronization field and an acknowledgement field indicative of an acknowledgement of receipt of a prior data packet. The data packet also includes a response field that includes information indicative of a system fault, a header field, and a sequence number field that includes a number assigned to the data packet. The data packet further includes a data field, an end of packet field, and an error-checking field. Methods and computer program products are provided that, in some implementations, include retransmitting packets if the acknowledgement field in a received data packet is a no acknowledgement (NAK) and/or placing a node into a safe state in response to a fault signal that is included in the received data packet.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting a first data packet from a first node of a robotic surgical system to a second node of the robotic surgical system, the first data packet including a fault indication that a fault exists in the robotic surgical system;

receiving the first data packet including the fault indication at the second node;

placing the second node into a safe state of the second node in response to receiving the fault indication, wherein placing the second node into the safe state of the second node includes locking a position of a first robotic arm joint in the robotic surgical system without software intervention;

transmitting a second data packet from the second node to a third node of the robotic surgical system in response to receiving the first data packet, the second data packet including the fault indication;

receiving the second data packet including the fault indication at the third node; and

placing the third node into a safe state of the third node in response to receiving the fault indication, wherein placing the third node into the safe state of the third node includes locking a position of a second robotic arm joint in the robotic surgical system without software intervention.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting a third data packet from the first node to a fourth node of the robotic surgical system, the third data packet including the fault indication;

receiving the third data packet including the fault indication at the fourth node; and

placing the fourth node into a safe state of the fourth node in response to receiving the fault indication, wherein placing the fourth node into the safe state of the fourth node includes locking a position of a third robotic arm joint in the robotic surgical system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting respective data packets from the first node to each of a plurality of nodes in the robotic surgical system other than the second and third nodes, wherein each of the respective data packets includes the fault indication.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fault indication is represented in the first data packet as a fault bit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data packet includes a data field including message information, and wherein transmitting the second data packet to the third node occurs before processing the message information at the first node.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after the transmitting of the first data packet, transmitting a third data packet from the first node to the second node, the third data packet missing the fault indication;

receiving the third data packet missing the fault indication at the second node;

returning the second node to an operational state from the safe state of the second node in response to receiving the missing fault indication in the third data packet, wherein returning the second node to an operational state includes unlocking the position of the first joint; and

transmitting a fourth packet from the second node to the third node in response to receiving the missing the fault indication in the third data packet, the fourth data packet missing the fault indication.

7. A robotic surgical system comprising:

a first node;

a second node;

a third node;

a first robotic arm joint;

a second robotic arm joint; and

fault reaction hardware;

the first node being configured to transmit a first data packet to the second node, the first data packet including a fault indication that a fault condition exists in the robotic surgical system;

the second node being configured to transmit a second data packet to the third node in response to receiving the first data packet, the second data packet including the fault indication;

the fault reaction hardware being configured to place the second node into a safe state of the second node in response to receiving the fault indication and without software intervention, the safe state of the second node including a locked position of the first robotic arm joint; and

the fault reaction hardware being further configured to place the third node into a safe state of the third node in response to receiving the fault indication and without software intervention, the safe state of the third node including a locked position of the second robotic arm joint.

8. The robotic surgical system of claim 7, wherein the first data packet includes control information, the control information including a fault bit that provides the fault indication.

9. The robotic surgical system of claim 7, wherein the first data packet includes a data field including message information.

10. The robotic surgical system of claim 9, wherein the second node transmits the second data packet before processing the message information of the first data packet.

11. The robotic surgical system of claim 7, further comprising:

a fourth node; and

a third robotic arm joint;

the first node being further configure to transmit a third data packet to the fourth node, the third data packet including the fault indication;

the fault reaction hardware being further configured to place the fourth node into a safe state of the fourth node in response to receiving the fault indication and without software intervention, the safe state of the fourth node a locked position of the third robotic arm joint.

12. The robotic surgical system of claim 7, further comprising:

a robotic arm, wherein the robotic arm comprises the first robotic arm joint and the second robotic arm joint.

13. The robotic surgical system of claim 7, further comprising:

a first robotic arm, wherein the first robotic arm comprises the first robotic arm joint; and

a second robotic arm, wherein the second robotic arm comprises the second robotic arm joint.

14. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to perform the operations of:

transmitting a first data packet from a first node of a robotic surgical system to a second node of the robotic surgical system, the first data packet including a fault indication that a fault exists in the robotic surgical system;

receiving the first data packet including the fault indication at the second node;

placing the second node into a safe state of the second node in response to receiving the fault indication, wherein placing the second node into the safe state of the second node includes locking a position of a first robotic arm joint in the robotic surgical system without software intervention;

transmitting a second data packet from the second node to a third node of the robotic surgical system in response to receiving the first data packet, the second data packet including the fault indication;

receiving the second data packet including the fault indication at the third node; and

placing the third node into a safe state of the third node in response to receiving the fault indication, wherein placing the third node into the safe state of the third node includes locking a position of a second robotic arm joint in the robotic surgical system without software intervention.

15. The product of claim 14, further comprising instructions operable to perform the operations of:

after the transmitting of the first data packet, transmitting a third data packet from the first node to the second node, the third data packet missing the fault indication;

receiving the third data packet missing the fault indication at the second node;

returning the second node to an operational state from the safe state of the second node in response to receiving the missing fault indication in the third data packet, wherein returning the second node to an operational state includes unlocking the position of the first joint; and

transmitting a fourth packet from the first second node to the third node in response to receiving the missing the fault indication in the third data packet, the fourth packet missing the fault indication.