초록 ▼

An industrial control system in accordance with the present invention is provided with a plurality of diverse controlled devices (e.g., fans, pumps, valves, solenoids, relays, etc.) for effecting overall system control. Each device has a unique set of logic control functions and/or command sequences

An industrial control system in accordance with the present invention is provided with a plurality of diverse controlled devices (e.g., fans, pumps, valves, solenoids, relays, etc.) for effecting overall system control. Each device has a unique set of logic control functions and/or command sequences and is connected, through an input/output interface, to a stored-program single board computer that provides device control and monitoring. The computers each include a central processor controlled by a composite or “master”program which is common to all the computers and which includes instruction sequences for all logic control functions and command sequences that exist within the system. A user alterable interconnection device (UAID) permits only those logic control function and/or command sequence portions of the master program that relate to a particular one of the controlled devices to operatively connect with the particular input/output ports associated with that controlled device. As the master program successively loops, only those logic control functions and/or command sequences that relate to the particular controlled device, as determined by the user alterable interconnection device, are operative to address the input-output ports associated with the controlled device and thereby effect device control and monitoring. The invention permits simple and efficient dedication of a plurality of single board computers having only one master program to an equal member of diverse controlled devices without the drawbacks normally associated with dedicated stored-program controllers.

대표청구항 ▼

A distributed computer control system for controlling a plurality of controlled devices comprising: a plurality of control computers each connected, respectively, to individual ones of a plurality of controlled devices for providing control thereto, each of said control computers having a central pr

A distributed computer control system for controlling a plurality of controlled devices comprising: a plurality of control computers each connected, respectively, to individual ones of a plurality of controlled devices for providing control thereto, each of said control computers having a central processor adapted to address a plurality of locations including memory locations and input/output port locations and adapted to operate in an indirect addressing mode, and each of said controlled devices connected to its respective control computer through input/output ports and having a particular set of logic functions and/or command sequences to effect control thereof; said computers connected to one another and to a central, supervisory computer through a data highway, said supervisory computer adapted to selectively monitor the function of each of said control computers; each computer having a first set of predetermined memory locations containing instructions for effecting the logic control functions and/or command sequences of all the controlled devices that exist within the system, some of said instructions causing said central processor to address a second, predetermined set of memory locations in order to obtain input signal information and provide output signal information to effect all of said logic control functions and/or command sequences; selected ones of said second set of memory locations in each control computer that correspond to the logic control functions and/or command sequences of the respective controlled device containing the input/output port addresses of said respective controlled device such that the logic control functions and/or command sequence portions of the instructions in said first set of memory locations that relate to the respective controlled device are operative through said selected ones of said second set of memory locations to receive input signal information from and provide output signal information to said respective controlled device; and the remaining ones of said second set of memory locations containing addresses chosen so that the logic control functions and/or command sequence portions of said instructions in said first set of locations that do not correspond to the logic control function and/or command sequences of the respective controlled device effect no logic control over said respective controlled device as a result of said so-chosen addresses in the remaining ones of said second set of memory locations.