Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Generic control system – apparatus or process
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-05
2002-05-21
Sheikh, Ayaz (Department: 2155)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Generic control system, apparatus or process
C700S011000, C700S023000, C700S024000, C713S100000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06393329
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a programmable controller system including a base board, and a power supply unit and a CPU unit which are to be mounted on the base board.
2. Background of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a system, such as a programmable controller, having a configuration in which various units are mounted on a base board (see Unexamined Japanese Patent Publications No. Hei-4-308952, No. Hei-2-116903, No. Hei-1-175607, No. Hei-2-176833, or the like).
FIG. 13
is a diagram showing a system configuration of a conventional programmable controller system constituted by a base board B″, a power supply unit SU′ for supplying power, a CPU unit CU′ for performing input/output processing and various arithmetical operations, input/output units (I/O units) IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
for input/output operations, and so on, those units being mounted on the base board B″. The power supply unit SU′, the CPU unit CU′, the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
are attached to slots provided in the base board B″ respectively, and have mating connectors which are to be connected to connectors provided in the respective slots. The base board B″ to which the CPU unit CU′ is to be attached is called a fundamental base board. On the other hand, there is also an extension base board connected to an extension connector
13
provided in the base board B″ through an extension cable, and used for extending the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
and so on. Basically, only the power supply unit SU′, the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
and so on, are attached to such an extension base board, but the CPU unit CU′ is not attached thereto. In the figures, the CPU unit CU′ is shown as an unit occupying two slots.
In the fundamental base board B″, a power supply connector
15
to which the power supply unit SU′ is to be connected, a CPU connector
16
to which the CPU unit CU′ is to be connected, I/O connectors
17
1
, . . . ,
17
n
to which the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
are to be connected, and the extension connector
13
are connected through a power supply line Lp, while an address bus AB and a data bus DB are provided among the CPU connector
16
, the I/O connectors
17
1
, . . . ,
17
n
and the extension connector
13
.
In addition, base board selection signals US
3
and US
4
for selecting the fundamental base board B″ and the extension base board respectively, and I/O selection signals US
0
to US
2
for selecting the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
attached to the slots of the respective base boards are outputted from the CPU unit CU′. These selection signals are supplied through the CPU connector
16
to a select circuit
18
provided on the fundamental base board B″. In the select circuit
18
, slot selection signals are supplied to selected ones of the I/O connectors
17
1
, . . . ,
17
n
connected to the I/O units IU
1
, . . . ,IU
n
in accordance with the supplied selection signals. In such a manner, input/output of data is performed through the address bus and the data bus between the I/O units IU
I
, . . . , IU
n
supplied with the slot selection signals through the I/O connectors
17
1
, . . . ,
17
n
and the CPU unit CU′.
On the other hand, the respective slots are arranged in a row in the fundamental base board B″ and the extension base board B″. Attached to the respective slots
0
, . . . , n, the power supply unit SU′, the CPU unit CU′, and the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
are disposed side by side adjacently as shown in FIG.
14
(
a
).
However, when the power supply unit is a high capacity power supply unit SU″, the body size thereof is so large that the power supply unit occupies two slots (the power supply slot and the slot
0
) of the fundamental base board B″ as shown in FIG.
14
(
b
). In this case, since the slot
0
to which the CPU unit CU′ is to be attached originally is occupied by the power supply unit SU″, the CPU unit CU′ must be shifted so as to be attached to the adjacent slot
1
. Then, the slots to which the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
are to be attached are shifted one by one successively in such a manner that, for example, the slot to which the I/O unit IU
1
is to be attached is shifted from the slot
1
to the slot
2
. Therefore, there is a problem that the select numbers of the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
(the numbers for identifying the I/O units IU
1
, . . . , IU
n
) change when wiring is made so as to fix the slot selection signals from the select circuit
18
as described above. In addition, when the fundamental base board B″ and the extension board are compared with each other, the physical positions of the slots and select numbers become different in accordance with presence or absence of the attachment of the CPU unit CU′ as shown in FIGS.
14
(
a
) and (
b
). It is therefore necessary to provide the fundamental base board B″ and the extension board separately since the base boards cannot be used with each other commonly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to solve the foregoing problem, that is, to provide a base board, and a power supply unit and a CPU unit which are attached to the base board, in which slots to which I/O units and so on are attached can be recognized properly even when the width of the power supply unit and the CPU unit are changed independently and respectively, or even when the CPU unit is not attached.
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a programmable controller system comprising: a base board having a plurality of slot; a power supply unit attached to at least one of the slots for supplying power to the base board; a CPU unit attached to at least one of the slots for outputting an I/O unit specification signal for specifying one executing I/O unit from among at least one I/O unit attached to ones of the remaining slots for executing I/O processing; discrimination means for discriminating amount of shifted position of the I/O unit which is changed in accordance with number of slot occupied by the power supply unit and the CPU unit; correction means for correcting the I/O unit specification signal based on the amount of shifted position of the I/O unit discriminated by the discrimination means; selection means for selecting one actual slot in which the I/O unit specified by the I/O unit specification signal is attached based on the corrected I/O specification signal.
Specifically, the discrimination means includes a first circuit having an unchanged configuration, a second circuit having a variable configuration according to the number of slot occupied by the power supply unit, and a third circuit having a variable configuration according to the number of slot occupied by the CPU unit, and wherein the amount of shifted position of the I/O unit is uniquely determined by a combination of the first circuit, the second circuit, and the third circuit.
The first circuit is a logic circuit provided on the base board, the second circuit is provided in the power supply unit, and the third circuit is provided in the CPU unit, and the first circuit, the second circuit and the third circuit uniquely form a discrimination circuit outputting a discrimination signal to the correction means when the power supply unit is attached to the base board.
In the system, it is possible to obtain different identification signals respectively when the widths of the power supply unit and the CPU unit occupying the slots of the base board are changed independently, or when the CPU unit is not attached. Accordingly, even in such a case, it is possible to properly recognize the slots to which I/O units and so on are attached.
Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is also adopted a method for switching a function of a base board in the programmable controller system. The method comprises the step
Backer Firmin
Fish & Richardson PC
Matsushita Electric & Works Ltd.
Sheikh Ayaz
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