EP0668552A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Control apparatus
Assignee: ZF International UK Ltd
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Filing: 1995-02-06
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2015-02-06
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus for controlling a system comprises a main controller (2) and a back-up controller (20). The main controller (2) comprises a programmable data processor and may itself contain duplicated lanes to enhance fault tolerance. The back-up controller (2) is a non-software digital controller, such as a state machine, such that all of the states of the back-up controller can be defined and hence the back-up controller is fully testable.
Inventors
- 👤 John Robert Simmons
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 06:01
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05B; G05B9/00; G05B9/02; G05B9/03
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
46 words
A control apparatus, the apparatus comprising a main controller (2) comprising at least one programmable data processor (4, 6) and a back-up controller (20) characterised in that the back-up controller (20) comprises a non-software digital controller arranged to take control when the main controller (2) fails.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
39 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the non-software digital controller (20) comprises at least one look-up table (54, 60, 80-86) and/or at least one functional block (94, 100, 106, 111, 116, 122, 86, 108).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, characterised in that at least one of the functional blocks is a three term PID controller (94, 100, 106, 112, 116, 122).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, characterised in that at least one of the functional blocks is a comparator (96, 108).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
A control apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4, characterised by further comprising a programmable memory for storing system contents used by the functional blocks and/or look-up tables.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
59 words
A control apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the control apparatus is arranged to control at least one engine and engine fuelling schedules and/or other engine parameters are stored within a memory such that the non-software digital controller can be adapted to an application without the need to redefine the control strategy.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
64 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, characterised in that the main controller (2) comprises first and second control lanes, each lane comprising at least one programmable data processor and each lane arranged to control the at least one engine, the lanes further arranged such that, in use, one lane controls the at least one engine and the other lane is in standby.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 7, characterised in that the back-up controller is arranged to take over from the main controller (2) at the request of a user or when the main controller is unable to control the at least one engine correctly.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
41 words
A control apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 6 to 8, characterised by a main fuel metering valve arranged to be controlled by the main controller, and a back-up metering valve arranged to be controlled by the back-up controller.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
A control apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the non-software digital controller comprises a state machine.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
A control apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, characterised in that the memory is reprogrammable.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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