1997-10-31
2001-05-29
Sax, Steven (Department: 2773)
C345S182000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238106
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a motor system controller and, more particularly, to a motor system controller and a method for operating the controller wherein values of user-selected parameters associated with the motor system controller are sequentially displayed without further user intervention.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
It is common in industry today to have a motor system including a controller for generating control signals, a driver for producing excitation signals responsive to the control signals, and a motor responsive to the excitation signals. The controller typically includes a control circuit for generating the control signals, a memory, and a user interface. The user interface allows a user to control generation of the control signals and monitor the performance of the motor system by accessing, modifying, selecting, and displaying, various motor system parameter values or commands.
A conventional user interface for a motor system controller includes an operator keypad and a display. By using the operator keypad, a user can access and/or modify the values of various motor system parameters associated with the motor system controller. Each time a parameter is accessed, its value is displayed on the display of the user interface. The display in a typical user interface is fairly small. Therefore, only one or two parameter values can generally be displayed at one time. When a user wishes to view additional parameter values, the user must actuate the keypad of the interface to step through or otherwise select the various parameter values. Typically, the set of parameter values is quite large. Therefore, the user is required to spend a great deal of time and effort to display the parameter values of interest to the user. This is undesirable when the user wishes to repeatedly view a number of parameter values over a period of time-for example, to see changes as the motor operates. The continuous user input required to access and display those parameter values is burdensome. Moreover, the interval between successive displays of any one parameter value is dependent upon the actuation of keys by the user.
There is thus a need for a motor system controller and a method of operating the controller that will minimize or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned deficiencies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a motor system controller that, once setup, sequentially displays values associated with user-selected parameters without the need for continuing user intervention (e.g., actuation of the keypad).
A motor system controller in accordance with the present invention includes means for selecting first and second parameters from a plurality of operating parameters associated with the controller and means for displaying respective values associated with the first and second Parameters. Importantly, the display means is configured to display the second value automatically (i.e., without further user intervention) after the first value has been displayed.
In a preferred embodiment, the selecting means may comprise an operator keypad located on a user interface of the controller while the displaying means may comprise a liquid crystal display located on the interface. The above-mentioned operating parameters may be stored in a memory associated with the controller.
A method of operating a motor system controller in accordance with the present invention includes four basic steps. The first step involves selecting a first parameter from a plurality of operating parameters associated with the motor system controller. The second step involves selecting a second parameter from the plurality of operating parameters. The third step involves displaying a first value associated with the first parameter. The fourth step involves displaying a second value associated with the second parameter wherein the second value is automatically displayed (i.e., without further user intervention) after the first value is displayed for a predetermined period of time.
One advantage of the present invention is that it allows a user to repeatedly display parameter values of interest without continuous user intervention (i.e., without having to repeatedly actuate a keypad to step through or select from a large number of parameter values that may not be of interest to the user).
A second advantage of the present invention is that it allows a user to view changes in the parameter values over constant intervals of time rather than at intervals that vary responsive to user input.
These and other features and objects of this invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings illustrating features of this invention by way of example.
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Dykema Gossett PLLC
Sax Steven
Warner Electric Technology, Inc.
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