Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Generic control system – apparatus or process – Plural processors
Reexamination Certificate
1995-12-15
2001-04-17
Powell, Mark R. (Department: 2122)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Generic control system, apparatus or process
Plural processors
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219583
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a control system which consists of a factory automation (FA) control unit and an interactive data processing unit for interactively performing data input/output operations, and more specifically, to a control system which allows an improved access from the interactive data processing unit to a memory in the FA control unit.
BACKGROUND ART
Numerical control systems are equipped with a numerical controller (CNC) and a man-machine interface controller (MMC)M which interactively performs data input/output operations and processes the data. The man-machine interface controller has some peripherals such as input devices (e.g., keyboard and mouse) and a display device (e.g., CRT or liquid crystal display) for this interactive operations.
In many cases, the numerical controller and man-machine interface controller are installed in a common cabinet and connected with each other by a parallel bus. Thanks to this parallel bus connection, a high-speed data transfer is provided between the numerical controller and man-machine interface controller. However, it is impossible to locate the man-machine interface controller at a distance from the numerical controller because of difficulty in extending the parallel bus. If there was no such a restriction with the location of the man-machine interface controller, it would be possible to place the man-machine interface controller anywhere the machine operator would feel convenient for efficiency of his/her work. For this reason, there has been a demand that the man-machine interface controller and the numerical controller be connected by a long transmission line.
One traditional solution for the above demand is a system that interconnects the buses of the two controllers via an RS-232-C line, which is one of the data communications methods standardized by the Electronic Industry Association (EIA) in the United States of America. According to this system configuration, the man-machine interface controller can be located tens of meters away from the numerical controller, and both processors can exchange data using a predetermined software protocol.
For example, when the man-machine interface controller is about to make access to some memory data in the numerical controller, the man-machine interface controller first outputs a data transfer request to the numerical controller via the RS-232-C interface. Upon reception of the data transfer request, the numerical controller parses the request and sends the requested data in its memory back to the man-machine interface controller, thereby allowing the man-machine interface controller to get its desired data.
The above-described connection by the RS-232-C interface, however, always takes two steps when the man-machine interface controller tries to read memory data in the numerical controller. First, the man-machine interface controller issues a data transfer request, and second, the processor in the numerical controller must support actual data transfer operations. In other words, the man-machine interface controller cannot directly access the memory within the numerical controller. As a result, the man-machine interface controller in need of some data in the numerical controller, must wait for the numerical controller sending the data, thus spending significant time to obtain the data. Also, the processor in the numerical controller must take care of the data transfer for the man-machine interface controller in addition to its regular duty, namely, numerical control. This extra burden of the processor could degrade its processing performance in various areas.
As described above, when the man-machine interface controller and the numerical controller are set apart from each other, the conventional numerical control system slows down in its data processing operations. This is due to a lack of direct access capability from the man-machine interface controller to the numerical controller's memory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a control system where an interactive data processing unit located away from an FA control unit can make direct access to the memory in the FA control unit.
To accomplish the above objective, according to the present invention, there is provided a control system which comprising of an FA control unit and an interactive data processing unit for interactively performing data input/output operations. The present invention comprises a remote access control unit, provided in the interactive data processing unit, for transmitting access requests via a transmission line and receiving data coming from the transmission line. Via this configuration, an access request to an arbitrary address of memory in the FA control unit is made by the present invention. An internal data input/output unit, provided in the FA control unit, used in making a direct access to the memory in response to the access request input via the transmission line, writes write-data into memory, and transmits read-data read out from the memory to the transmission line.
The remote access control unit is provided in the interactive data processing unit and transmits an access request via a transmission line and receives data through the same. This access request is for data stored at an arbitrary memory address in the FA control unit.
An internal data input/output unit is provided in the FA control unit which directly access in order to write or read to memory in response to the access request input via the transmission line. It writes the given write-data into the memory when the access is a write-request, while it transmits the read-data to the transmission line when the access request is a read-request.
In this way the interactive data processing unit can make access directly to the memory in the FA control unit without any intervention by the processor in the FA control unit.
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Kinoshita Jiro
Kubo Yoshiyuki
Fanuc Limited
Powell Mark R.
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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